Two O&R Workers Rescue Elderly Man From Burning House in Monsey

Two O&R employees raced into a burning building yesterday morning in Monsey and rescued an elderly man, who had been sleeping and was unaware of the blaze.

The O&R employees, Ted Ryder and James Lynch, were driving down Old Nyack Turnpike, followed by a third O&R employee, Ross Dailey. Ryder spotted the burning house and Lynch immediately pulled over as did Dailey. Ryder reported the fire as the group left their vehicles to offer help.

A young woman approached Ryder and told him her grandfather was still in the burning house. Ryder called upon his experience and training as a 42-year member and former chief of the all-volunteer Nyack Fire Department. He and Lynch entered the burning building to investigate further. Dailey backed them up outside to brief the fire department when it arrived.

Ryder and Lynch shouted as they made their way into the burning dwelling to sound the alarm. They quickly went room-to-room, pounding on doors to clear the building.

As they searched, Ryder glanced into the empty kitchen and saw an out-of-place curtain covering a corner of the room. He pulled the curtain back and found an elderly man sound asleep. Ryder woke him, and Lynch led the man out of the smoke-filled building. Ryder continued the sweep, looking for more occupants. The O&R men found no one else in the building.

O&R Vice President Operations Francis W. Peverly said, “These men are well trained and very experienced. They are seasoned and cool under pressure, accustomed to taking immediate action in emergency situations to get effective results. These are the kind of people who work at O&R.”

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