LI First Responders, Good Samaritan Lauded For Fire Rescue

GLEN COVE, NY — Glen Cove’s brass are lauding the efforts of first responders from the city’s three agencies, as well as a Good Samaritan, who banded together to save two men who were trapped inside of a burning home last week.

“If it was not for their swift and heroic action, a devastating event such as this could have proved fatal for those involved,” said Glen Cove Mayor Tim Tenke.

A special citation ceremony is planned for outside the firehouse on Friday morning, Tenke’s office said.

When police officers arrived at the Raymond Street home last Friday morning, neighbor Lawrence Pascucci brought his ladder over to help them reach the second floor of the burning home. Sgt. Marco Telese, Det. Eddy Linares, Det. Lt. John Nagle, as well as officers Matthew Gillespie and Brian Genova, then used Pascucci’s adder to bring a 70-year-old man from the second-story window, and down the ladder to safety, according to police.

Firefighters gained access to the burning home while William "Billy" Niece, Jr. and ex-captain D. Schnieder immediately began dousing the fire, police said. Asst. Chief Phill Grella, along with firefighters Peter Micheleas, Michael Mienko and Javier Valentin of the Freeport Fire Department, brought the second man, a 51-year-old, who was unconscious and inside of a bedroom on the second floor, outside to safety, police said.

Paramedics stabilized the man at the scene right before he was airlifted to Nassau University Hospital Medical Center in East Meadow for treatment of his severe burns, and he remains there in critical condition, Det. Lt. Nagle said. The 70-year-old man, who was rescued from the second floor of the home, suffered smoke inhalation and he has been released from the hospital.

Police Chief William Whitton called the fire rescue “a great example of a tragedy being avoided due to the seamless work effort” between the city’s emergency services “doing what they do best.”

“Lives were saved because of the collective quick-thinking and selflessness that was on display at the scene of the fire,” he said.

Fire Chief Marvin Tate described the rescue as a “great effort” by all the city’s agencies.

“It was definitely made possible by the guys on the hose line that made it easier for the fireman to get up to the second floor to rescue the victim,” he said.

He went on to commend the firefighters, adding, “Those five individuals were key in getting the critical victim out of the house. If it was not for their efforts, that gentleman would not be where he is today. He still has a long road to recovery, but hopefully it’s a positive one.”

EMS Chief Robert Picoli said that if it wasn’t for the police and fire department’s immediate actions on Friday, both of the residents could have died, and lauded his paramedics, including Chris Demetropolis, Jason Heller, and Matthew Shanhai, saying that they showed “excellent patient care skills.”

“If the three agencies hadn’t all worked together, there would have been a different outcome,” he added.

Police said Alex Kirton, who lived in the home with the men, “deliberately” set the home on fire while they were inside.

Kirton, 47, has been charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, as well as first-degree arson, both felonies. Nassau police said. He is being held without bail at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, Det. Lt. Nagle said.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison based on the top charge of attempted murder.

An investigation is continuing with Nassau County police's Homicide Unit and the Arson/Bomb Squad, as well as Glen Cove and state police, and the Nassau County Fire Marshal's office.