16 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo courtesy of NYPD
Two men rescued from
Jamaica Bay after kayaks fl ip
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
By air and sea, cops worked quickly
to rescue two kayakers who fell into
Jamaica Bay in Queens on Saturday
aft ernoon.
Police responded to a 911 call at 5:20
p.m. on May 26 that the two boaters
had fallen into Jamaica Bay, within the
confi nes of the Rockaway-based 100th
Precinct.
Members of the NYPD Aviation
Unit fl ew over and found a man struggling
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD110Pct
4-alarm fi re in Elmhurst
injures 9 fi refi ghters
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Th e fl ames quickly spread throughout
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
the seventh fl oor and cockloft of
the building, causing fl ames to shoot
Fire marshals are investigating the
out of windows and the roof, lighting
cause of a four-alarm blaze that broke
up the sky.
out late on Sunday night in Elmhurst
Scores of fi refi ghters and offi cers from
and lasted into the early hours of
the 110th Precinct responded to the
Monday morning.
scene. WPIX-TV reported that nine fi refi
According to the Fire Department,
ghters suff ered injuries while battling
the inferno ignited at about 11:20 p.m.
the blaze.
on May 27 on the upper fl oors of the
Th e FDNY brought the fi re under
seven-story building on 41st Avenue
control at about 1:20 a.m. on May 28,
between 80th and 81st streets.
Fire Department sources said.
to hold on to two kayaks. Th e
Aviation Unit was joined moments
later by a crew onboard Air/Sea Rescue
Helicopter 22, which then deployed
two scuba divers into the water.
Law enforcement sources said the
man told the divers that his friend’s
kayak had capsized about 15 minutes
before they arrived, and pointed them
in the direction where he had been last
seen. Using a rescue basket, the divers
raised the man onto the helicopter.
Moments later, cops observed the
second boater in the water. Th e divers
were then redeployed with the rescue
basket, and brought the second man
out of the water and onto the chopper.
Helicopter 22 fl ew the victims to
Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
Th ere, paramedics examined the victims,
both of whom refused medical
attention.
On Saturday night, the NYPD posted
a group photo of the victims with the
offi cers who saved their lives: Police
Offi cers Laura Zbikowski, Jonathan
McAuley, Kenneth White, Michael
Guida and Robin Rohner.
Photo via Twitter/NYPD106Pct
Police saved a family dog following a fi re in South Ozone Park.
Queens cop ran into
burning home to save
family’s beloved pet
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
A beloved family dog was saved by
police on Wednesday following a fi re in a
South Ozone Park home.
On May 23, police and fi refi ghters
responded to a 911 call at 12:56 p.m.
about a blaze on 109th Avenue near
130th Street.
Sources said the fi re started on the fi rst
fl oor of the house when a plumber was
working on the fi rst fl oor bathroom and
performing welding work.
Police Offi cer Michael Leary of the
106th Precinct was among the responding
personnel, and made sure that the
mother and son who were inside exited
the home safely.
Aft er all members of the family were
removed from the house, police said, a
female resident informed Offi cer Leary
that their dog Champ was still inside.
Putting his own safety at risk, police
said, Leary re-entered the home and
heard the dog barking in the basement.
Th e offi cer retrieved the pet and brought
him outside to his family’s waiting arms.
All members of the family, including
Champ, were safely removed and did not
suff er any injuries.
Offi cials said that the FDNY were able
to successfully extinguish the fi re a short
time later.
Captain Brian J. Bohannon Jr., commander
of the 106th Precinct, praised the
offi cer’s work in a post to the precinct’s
Twitter page.
Aft er a mother and son were forced
to evacuate their house because of
a fi re, they told Offi cer Leary of the
106th Precinct that their dog Champ
was still inside. Offi cer Leary rushed in,
heard Champ barking and retrieved the
beloved pet unscathed. pic.twitter.com/
S7u56gorbA
— NYPD 106th Precinct (@
NYPD106Pct) May 24, 2018
link
link
/@jenna_bagcal
