Off-Duty Fire Lieutenant from 12th Avenue Fire Station Rescues Man from Car Fire

By Idy Perl

Off-duty FDNY Lieutenant Richard Cannon was driving home with his wife and kids at 3AM on Saturday when he saw a car collision on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn.

When one of the cars burst into flames, Lt. Cannon jumped out of his car and ran over to rescue the driver while calling the dispatch team on his phone. 

The driver’s door was pinned shut as flames engulfed the car, but Lt. Cannon was able to open the passenger door and reached in to unbuckle the driver and pulled him out for the waiting EMTs. 

At a press conference, Lt. Cannon, who works at the 12th Ave Ladder 148 fire station, says that his training kicked in even though he was off shift. 

“It’s just what we do,” Cannon said. “Somebody needed help and we got them. I was just doing my job.”