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Postal worker helps deliver N.Y. family from fire

Megan DeMarco, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
U.S. postal carrier Barb Langdon describes her part in rescuing a grandmother from a burning home in Chili, N.Y., on Jan. 24.
  • Barbara Langdon has worked for postal service for 32 years
  • She had never worked on the street where she saw the fire until Thursday
  • Two adults and two children injured in the fire remain in guarded condition

CHILI, N.Y. — When postal worker Barbara Langdon saw black smoke billowing out of a house on her route — on a street she started delivering mail to just this week — she jumped into action.

"I saw black smoke coming out of the chimney, which I figured didn't look right," Langdon, a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, told reporters outside a grocery store on her route Thursday afternoon. "At that moment, I heard glass breaking, so I dialed 911."

As she frantically dialed 911 — her phone beeping a low-battery warning — Landgon saw Judy Ogg, 67, partway out a first-floor bedroom window, smoke surrounding her.

The fire injured Judy Ogg, Kaitlyn Ogg, 24, and two children, a 4-year-old boy and a 7-month-old girl. All four were transported to a local hospital, where they remained in guarded condition Friday.

When Langdon pulled up, she honked her horn to get the attention of anybody who was home, and pulled into a neighbor's driveway to leave room for firetrucks. That's when she saw a woman yelling out of a high first-floor window, and she rushed over to the window.

"She said she had a 4-year-old in there with her," Langdon said. "We both started screaming. I just kept screaming the baby's name — I could hear him talking — to get him to come toward my voice."

At the same time, the woman became weak and started to fall, so Langdon tore down the curtains and pulled her out.

"I don't know how, but I got her out of the window," Langdon said. "And then she fell on the ground. I took my coat off and wrapped her up."

Around that time, Chili firefighters arrived and rushed into the house.

Chili Deputy Fire Chief Jason Elliotto and firefighters Dave Saur and Scott Miller found the 24-year-old woman on the kitchen floor.

Firefighters made several attempts to find both of the children. Battalion Chief Chuck Kaiser found a 4-year-old boy on the main floor and got him out the house through a bathroom window.

Elliotto crawled back into the house and found the 7-month-old girl in the kitchen underneath fire debris. He carried her to a waiting ambulance.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries. Two of the men were treated and released, and the third is expected to leave Strong by Friday.

Johnson said it appeared the fire started in the basement and had been smoldering for a while before Langdon noticed and called 911. The fire remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious.

A bizarre set of circumstances surrounded Langdon's rescue. Usually she takes a 10-minute break early on during her shift. On Thursday, she skipped the break.

"I don't know why, I just didn't today," she said. "It would have been too late, definitely too late."

A Chili, N.Y. firefighter puts out a hot spot following a house fire on Jan. 24 that sent four people to a hospital.

And this week was the first time she had ever set foot on the street where she discovered the blaze.

But Langdon dismissed any praise that her actions were heroic or lifesaving.

"I didn't think about what I was doing, I just did it," she said. "I just wanted the babies to get out."

Langdon, a grandmother herself, continued to deliver mail on her route after her rescue efforts, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Karen Mazurkiewicz.

Johnson called Langdon's actions "extraordinary."

"I guess I would have just gone home and sat on the couch and cried all day watching the news," she said. "I just hope everybody survives."

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