SPRING VALLEY — For Firefighter Evan Humphrey, there’s no better way to celebrate his birthday than to save a life.
Humphrey carried a 2-year-boy down seven flights of stairs through smoke as a top-floor apartment burned at 101 Kennedy Drive, the Country Village Towers high-rise complex. The fire left 14 families living on the seventh floor displaced, fire officials said.
The toddler and three others were among residents trapped. The four were taken by ambulance to the hospital as a precaution, fire officials said.
“Just doing my job,” Humphrey said, standing in a wet shower of snow and looking up at the burned-out apartment. “I turned 42 today. I couldn’t ask for a better present than to save a life. Saving a child is special.”
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As he carried the child, Humphrey said all he thought about were his nieces and nephews.
“I could relate,” he said.
The American Red Cross set up tables at Spring Valley High School to assist the families with shelter and personal needs. The apartment complex is across from the high school and a strip mall.
Spring Valley Fire Chief Ken Conjura said when firefighters arrived heavy smoke and flames spewed from the balcony. The cause of the fire was undetermined Wednesday and under investigation by Humphrey, a village fire inspector.
Conjura said the response by Spring Valley police officers and firefighters like Humphrey likely saved lives by rushing up the stairs to the burning apartment.
He said at least the four residents were trapped before the first-responders arrived.
“The hallway filled with smoke and people were blinded,”‘Conjura said.
Several fire departments with several dozens of firefighters responded to assist the Spring Valley Fire Department, including Nanuet, Pearl River, and Hillcrest Ambulance, and paramedic crews responded as did the Chaverim of Rockland, an emergency services organization comprised of volunteers.
Fire hoses extended from trucks across the streets.
The fire started at 1 p.m. and flames were reported knocked down 38 minutes later. There were no reported injuries.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.