The two-alarm blaze engulfed the two-story house at 41-32 66th St. shortly before 8 a.m….
By Dustin Brown
Neighbors and city firemen saved two older men from a fire that consumed their home on 66th Street in Woodside last Thursday, residents and fire officials said.
The two-alarm blaze engulfed the two-story house at 41-32 66th St. shortly before 8 a.m. when Joseph Kukla, 94, and his son Donald, 60, were still inside. While neighbors managed to pull the son to safety before firemen arrived, New York’s bravest rescued the father shortly before the house was completely consumed in flames.
The fire was brought under control by 8:48 a.m., less than an hour after it had started.
Donald Kukla was in critical but stable condition in the burn unit of Cornell Medical Center, while his father was listed in stable condition at Jacobi Medical Center.
Froylan Garcia of 39-45 65th Place said he was traveling to work when he saw the blaze and rushed to aid two neighbors who were attempting to rescue the men before the Fire Department’s arrival.
“We tried to help, but it was too difficult,” Garcia said.
Although they could not make it into the house, Garcia said he and another neighbor managed to pull Donald Kukla out a first-story window and to safety when he emerged through the opening.
It was not until the Fire Department arrived minutes later that Joseph Kukla was rescued from his bedroom.
FDNY’s appearance could not have been better timed. The room lit up moments after firemen pulled the father from his smoke-filled room, where he had sat wedged between furniture on the floor. The sudden burst of fire forced the rescuers to bail out through the window once Kukla was saved, said Fireman Robert Calise, a FDNY spokesman.
Capt. Brian Hickey, Fireman Jimmy Finnell, and Fireman John Gaine were all instrumental in saving Kukla, Calise said.
The rescue effort was hampered by the presence of large amounts of rubbish and excess furniture in the building, which also may have contributed to the size of the blaze, Calise said.
Neighbors said the family had lived in that house since the 1930s or ‘40s.
They described Joseph Kukla as an inventor with government contracts who “led a very full life,” which included hunting whales in Nova Scotia, participating in the Alaskan Gold Rush, and serving as a movie stuntman.
Donald Kukla is co-chairman of the block association, they said.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
