By Linda Spice
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Copyright 2008 Journal Sentinel Inc.
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee firefighter who dragged his unconscious fire captain to safety when they both fell through the floor of a burning home Thursday is being lauded as a hero by department officials.
“He saved the captain’s life,” Milwaukee Fire Battalion Chief Salvatore Santoro said of the 24-year-old Anthony Rueda, a five-year veteran of the department.
The captain, Theodore Stribling, 48, remains at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he is listed as stable with a head injury. He regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital after the early morning blaze at 2416 N. 2nd St., which officials suspect was arson.
Rueda, who was treated for neck, back and shoulder injuries and is recovering at home, said that after he and Stribling fell through to the basement, a staircase fell on top of them. Rueda covered his head.
“I was trying to wake him up, move him around. ‘Captain, you OK? You OK? Can you hear me?’ He wasn’t responding. I get his radio and I yell, ‘Mayday! Mayday! Firefighter down!’ ” Rueda said.
Rueda and Stribling were at least the second and third firefighters injured in a suspected arson fire this month. Another firefighter suffered minor burns in a west side fire May 7. Two 12-year-olds were later taken into custody and accused of starting that fire.
Rueda and Stribling, part of Engine 5, had responded Thursday to the 2 1/2 story house about 2:50 a.m. with firefighter John Kielpinski and heavy equipment operator Fred Bohlman.
Engine 21 was already inside, working to douse the blaze. Although the house looked vacant, firefighters knew there was a possibility that a homeless person might be inside.
Rueda and Stribling went in. Kielpinski was on the porch feeding them hose.
Inside, the floor felt weird, “very squishy,” Rueda said.
“From what I learned from the academy, that’s usually a bad sign,” he said.
He and Stribling decided to proceed on their hands and knees to better balance their weight and reduce the possibility of falling.
“As soon as we got down on the floor, it gave away a second later,” Rueda said. “It was a split second. I tried grabbing onto the stairway. That didn’t work. That stairway came down on top of us. We fell on the floor. I remember trying to cover up so nothing else fell on my head. I was thinking, ‘Where’s the captain?’ ”
When Rueda found Stribling unresponsive, he pulled him out by the straps of his breathing apparatus. Outside, firefighters took Stribling and Rueda to a paramedic unit.
Stribling remained at Froedtert Hospital on Thursday in stable condition with a head injury. Rueda was treated and released and just grateful to be able to spend another day with his family and his newborn son, Maximus, born April 26.
Rueda praised the work of the first engine company for preventing him and Stribling from suffering more serious injuries.
“Engine 21 put out the bulk of the fire,” Rueda said. “If they didn’t do that, we would have fell straight into fire.”
Santoro said he will recommend a department commendation for Rueda and Engine 21 for their work on Thursday.
“He saved the captain’s life,” Santoro said of Rueda.
Said Rueda: “To me, it’s our job. You take care of the civilians and take care of your brothers and sisters no matter what.”
For the first four months of this year, there 24 arsons, according to the fire department, including six buildings. For the same dates in 2007, 20 blazes were listed as arson fires, seven of those to buildings.