FRIEND CATCHES BOY IN FIRE LEAP

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, February 14, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B08

A 13-year-old boy escaped injury in a fire Thursday when he climbed off a second-floor balcony at his family’s apartment onto a storage shed roof, then jumped into the arms of a next-door neighbor.

Ricky Correale of 147 Washington Ave. admitted he was scared, but was laughing later when he said Sam Aguilar, 15, “saved my life.”

John Godfroy, 72, and his wife Alma, 71, tenants in the first-floor apartment where the fire started, were taken to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck for observation, Fire Chief William A. Weber said.

Following an alarm at 7:53 a.m., firefighters saw heavy, black smoke coming out the front door and windows of the building, which also contains three storefronts and two other apartments.

“The fire started in the bedroom closet,” Weber said. “A [lighted] cigarette accidentally fell into the pocket of the woman’s robe. She then hung the robe up in the closet.”

The fire was under control within 15 minutes, Weber said. Heat and water damage was confined to the couple’s living room and bedroom, although smoke damage extended to the second-floor apartment and a store next door, Weber said.

Correale, whose mother had left for work, was coming out of the shower when he heard a frantic knock on the door and shouts that the building was on fire, he said.

He grabbed a jacket, sweat pants, a T-shirt, and sneakers. Unable to go down the stairs because of heavy smoke, Correale went out the back door onto the roof of the shed.

Aguilar was in the parking lot when he saw the smoke, then saw Correale on the roof, which is about 12 feet from the ground. Aguilar said he told his friend, who weighs about 130 pounds, to jump, and that he would catch him.

“He kept saying, `Are you sure you’re going to catch me? He asked me that like six times. I said jump, jump, jump,” Aguilar said.

Correale said he took another look at the flames shooting out of the first-floor windows. He jumped, and Aguilar caught him in a bear-hug.

Little Ferry firefighters were assisted by the Carlstadt, Hasbrouck Heights, and Moonachie fire departments.

SPECIAL DELIVERY FOR PAIR

By MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, August 25, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A08

A routine call to pick up a dialysis patient Saturday morning turned joyous for two emergency medical technicians and a couple whose baby girl they helped deliver in the Holy Name Hospital parking lot.
Frank Sapienza and Carl Putkowski Jr. of Adamo Medical Services in Pompton Plains were at the back of an ambulance about 10:25 a.m. preparing to take a 79-year-old Garfield man home when a car screeched into the lot.
An agitated man came running out of his car toward the men. “My wife, my wife, she is having a baby,” the man said to Putkowski.
Sapienza and Putkowski, neither of whom had delivered a baby before, ran to the car.
At 10:30 a.m., in the back of a blue Ford Taurus, they assisted in the birth of an 8-pound, 3-ounce girl.
“It was an experience beyond belief,” Putkowski said. “It’s such a heartwarming feeling, to bring a life into the world. That is just something spectacular.”
A nursing supervisor at the hospital confirmed the men’s exploits but was unable to provide additional information on the birth or the family.

Keywords: TEANECK; BABY; PEQUANNOCK; GARFIELD; AMBULANCE; RESCUE

DRIVER PULLED FROM WRECK, THEN CHARGED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, September 30, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A07

A 33-year-old borough woman whose car hit a parked car early Saturday morning and burst into flames was pulled from the wreck by a policeman and a firefighter, authorities said.

Sandra L. Slockett of Center Avenue was rescued at about 1:30 a.m. by firefighter Albert Van Houten Jr. and Patrolman Michael Smith.

“When we got to the car, it was totally involved, and the driver was trapped in the vehicle,” said Midland Park Fire Chief Albert Van Houten Sr.

“Another 30 seconds, and it would have been too late. “

Van Houten said his son and Smith grabbed the door of the car, forced it open, and rescued Slockett, whom the chief described as semiconscious.

He said the accident occurred at 66 Bank St., a few doors from his home.

Slockett had been driving west on the street when the accident occurred, the chief said. He and his son left their house and headed down the street when they heard the fire alarm.

Police charged Slockett with careless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with a suspended license.

A police spokesman said Slockett, who refused medical treatment when she was taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood after the accident, told police she would return to the hospital later Saturday for treatment.