Fire Rescue News - Neighbors save Atlantic City woman from fire

Posted: Saturday, June 4, 2011 8:54 pm | Updated: 1:22 am, Sun Jun 5, 2011.

By DAN GOOD Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com

kitchen, filling the apartment with smoke. That smoke triggered the building's recently installed smoke detectors, Brooks said.

"After the smoke detectors start going off, you have two to three minutes before the fire becomes too intense," Brooks said.

As those three minutes passed, neighbor Bernadette Newby-Schenck noticed what was happening and tried to pull Sakinah Thompson, 25, from her apartment, and neighbors Richard Toulson and John Sessoms followed, fire and police officials said.

Police Officer Joseph Bereheiko was stationed nearby. He also came to help.

Police Sgt. Greg Anderson said Newby-Schenck and Toulson pulled Thompson out of the apartment, and Bereheiko and Sessoms together carried her downstairs - all without masks or air tanks.

"The only equipment they had is courage," Brooks said.

Two of the neighbors were later hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Thompson received burns to her hands, face and extremities, Brooks said, and was flown to a Philadelphia-based burn center.

A firefighter also broke his ankle while battling the fire, which was contained within a half-hour.

Officials are still investigating the fire's cause.

The fire could have been worse, Brooks said.

As the fire spread, fire officials thought the woman's baby was trapped inside the apartment.

"We were worried there was a baby trapped in the apartment," Brooks said. "We couldn't get that information from the resident, so we weren't sure."

Firefighters eventually found out that Thompson had left her baby in a relative's care earlier in the evening, and the baby was safe.

Thompson's second-floor apartment remains uninhabitable, but the 11 other units in the building were saved - all because the neighbors jumped in to help, Brooks said.

The Red Cross visited the scene, providing aid where needed.

Brooks said he hopes the city recognizes the Good Samaritans who helped rescue Thompson.

"These days, people are hesitant to get involved with anything like this," Brooks said. "Hats off to them."

Contact Dan Good:  609-272-7203  DGood@pressofac.com