In the video that Troy Hinson (aka Troyquan) took in the moments after the explosion, you can see a man climb the fire escape above Sushi Park at 121 Second Ave. and search for any people inside the building.You can see him kick in some windows during his search.
His name is Mike Shepherd, a third-generation New York City firefighter. Shepherd, of Squad 41 in the Bronx, was off duty and had just finished lunch nearby.
Al Baker at The New York Times has Shepherd's story.
“As I got closer to the corner I could feel the concussion bounced off the building across the street and kind of hit me in the chest and I said, ‘Oh man, it’s a big one.’ ”
“Then I looked and I turned and I see the whole building is out in the street and people laying there, and I said, ‘Oh man, this is bad.’ And I looked up and I thought, ‘I got to check above.’”
He saw a girl out on the fire escape, and she could not get the ladder unhooked.
“Me and a couple of other guys were trying to get the drop ladder down for her. It was too heavy. She was panicking. I told her, I said, ‘Honey, you got to calm down and listen to me.’ I said, ‘Bend with your legs and lift it up so it unhooks and then just let it go.’ And she was like, ‘I can’t.’”
He told her she could do it.
“I just kind of instilled confidence in her.”
Read the whole article here.
"I am Mike Shepard" would be good movement.
ReplyDeleteScrew Marvel superheroes, Mike Shepard and these firefighters are real heroes. Amazing vid, Troy Hinson.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this video - watch the person with the bags, it looks like the person stops and looks into the sushi place and then the blast - if that person is alive they are very lucky.
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2015/03/27/the-moment-building-explodes-in-nycs-east-village/
Teared up reading that one. That's one brave, bad-ass dude. Thank you, sir.
ReplyDeleteIt was heart-wrenching to watch that young woman struggle with the ladder. Thank you, Mike Shepard, for being there.
ReplyDeleteNot to be insensitive but is there anything that could be done about these FUCKING hovering helicopters? It's driving me insane listening to this nonstop helicopter overhead. For what? The same picture over.
ReplyDeleteThe people who are closest to this shouldn't have to also hear this annoying helicopter. There should be more rules on this.
Wow. What a hero!
ReplyDeleteThat dude is a freaking hero. Bravest thing i've seen in my life.
ReplyDeleteThe helicopters are not for pictures. They are likely watching traffic flow and things like that.
ReplyDeleteI saw in the video that she was having trouble unhooking the fire escape ladder. I am about her size and wonder if I would also have trouble doing that with mine. Is there a way those ladders can be modified to make it easier for smaller people and even kids to unlatch them? I want to talk to my landlord about ours. If anyone has any tips, I would appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteMike from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being so brave and selfless! You are a true hero. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI live in the East Village and I agree that the helicopters get annoying after a while. But hey, we live in a major city, a major media market. There are tradeoffs.
ReplyDeletethat woman seemed more concerned about her cell phone than getting out.
ReplyDeleteand why were they only using one hose on the fire ?
What's the purpose of having fire-escapes if weaker people can't unhook them? This doesn't make sense to me. It's 2015 and I'm supposed to believe that it is impossible to design a fire-escape that can be used by the elderly, the infirm or the very young? The most vulnerable victims!
ReplyDeleteThe Good Shepard.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ March 27, 2015 at 5:50 PM
ReplyDelete>I am about her size and wonder if I would also have trouble doing that with mine... If anyone has any tips...
Work out more until someone finds a way to re-engineer something that was installed 100yrs ago. The biggest problem is if it unlatches accidentally kills someone by hitting them in the head.
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@Matthew has 2 T's, dumbass
>that woman seemed more concerned about her cell phone than getting out.
>and why were they only using one hose on the fire ?
Women need to wear clothing that has pockets.
I'm not a firefighter, but I'm guess they were still priming the hoses and needed to access if it was a chemical fire of some sort, in which water could feed the fire.