NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Little Ian Pereles was reunited with a group of FDNY firefighters and paramedics on Tuesday who pulled him from a Staten Island house fire last month and saved his life.
Isaiah Pereles, Ian’s dad, was inside his Graniteville home with Ian’s grandfather and cousin Angelo when a fire broke out on the afternoon of Jan. 17. By the time he realized what was happening, Isaiah said it was too late for him to reach Ian.
“The smoke detector went off, my first reaction was the baby! I ran downstairs, but the heat was just too much,” he told 1010 WINS.
Immediately upon arrival, firefighters were informed that there was still a child trapped in the home. Firefighter Ryan Smith, a 6-year FDNY veteran, was working with Captain Anthony Harper to locate Ian, who was only 2-years-old at the time.
“I was just in the right position at the right time,” Smith told 1010 WINS. “I was doing my job and I happen to be there when the Captain I was working with put him outside the window and I grabbed him there.”
He said that visibility was bad, but as soon as he spotted Ian, he lunged into action.
“I couldn’t see inside of that room with my flashlight had my flashlight going inside trying to see if I could see anything,” Smith told 1010 WINS. “I just saw a fire and I wasn’t able to see anything. He appeared out of the darkness—literally like a little miracle.”
Smith was able to grab Ian and run through the backyard, right through the side of the house and to the front where he handed the toddler off to paramedics.
Ian was in critical condition when he was removed from the 2-alarm fire, and Isaiah Pereles said that his son suffered second-degree burns to his body as well as internal burns and swelling in his throat.
“I think we celebrated his third birthday three times, we celebrated his life,” he said. “We didn’t know if he was going to make it.”
But on Tuesday, Ian was all smiles as he used his bandaged arms to help hand out awards to his heroes.
“It’s night and day compared to when we first met him to how it is now,” paramedic Daniel Fennell told 1010 WINS.
The reunion was hosted at Staten Island Borough Hall by Borough President Vito Fossella, who organized the event to honor the FDNY officials for their dedication to the wellbeing of the community.
“This is what Staten Island is all about, trying to be grateful of people willing to sacrifice their life to save another,” Fossella said. “I can only imagine the joy and celebration the parents have being that Ian just turned three. It could’ve been a real tragedy. Thank God we have great firefighters, true heroes, and EMTs. The family was very grateful.”