Irondequoit, N.Y. - Flames broke out around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in a home on Tamarack Drive in Irondequoit.
The man inside the home suffers from Huntington’s disease, and became so disoriented that when firefighters tried to rescue him, he dropped to his knees and crawled in the opposite direction back into the home.
By that time, the home was fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters made the rescue with the help of two neighbors, who were the first to get to the house and break down the door. The firefighters went into the home, and with the assistance of neighbors, dragged the man to nearby grass, according to Point Pleasant fire chief Steve Derleth.
“I called 911, screamed for my husband, my neighbor came running, and they busted the windows and tried to break the door down. By that time, the fire trucks were here, and they got him out,” said Leigh Collins, a friend of the victim.
The victim was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where he is now in guarded condition, suffering from smoke inhalation and burns.
Firefighters say the home will need to be knocked down. Investigators have not yet determined what started the fire.
