Officials: Officers, volunteer firefighter rescue man from house fire in Roosevelt

The incident happened Sunday at a home on Frederick Avenue.

News 12 Staff

Apr 18, 2022, 9:14 AM

Updated 964 days ago

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Officials say three Nassau County police officers and a volunteer firefighter ran into a burning house in Roosevelt and rescued a developmentally disabled man trapped inside.
The incident happened Sunday at a home on Frederick Avenue.
News 12 has been told four residents were able to get out, but a 29-year-old autistic man was trapped.
Louis Fuentes, an off-duty volunteer firefighter for the Uniondale Fire Department, was at a family barbecue for Easter. He was nearby and heard his pager go off and sprung into action.
"Basically I just responded on my own and I got in my car, I ran up to the house," Fuentes says.
When police arrived on the scene, three officers and Fuentes ran through heavy smoke and found the man on the second floor in his bed scared to leave the house.
The officers, who are trained in dealing with developmentally disabled individuals, and Fuentes convinced the man that he needed to get out quickly.
"He was on the bed, I grabbed him, basically yanked him out of the bed and went downstairs with him," Fuentes says.
Police say the 29-year-old was barefoot and that there was a lot of broken glass at the bottom of the stairs. Officer Vincent Bogan carried him over his shoulder and outside to safety.
The autistic man, two other residents and all three officers were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
"I wouldn't consider myself a hero, I just do what I love and that's the fire department," Fuentes says. "That's all that matters to me."
All are expected to be OK.
The fire marshal's office says they are still investigating the fire but believe it could be related to a lit cigarette that wasn't put out properly.