Joe Adinolfi, an off-duty firefighter, rescued nine people, a parrot and a few dogs from five-feet floodwaters and a raging fire when Hurricane Sandy struck his tiny seaside community of Breezy Point (NY), reports NBC News.
“I heard people out there in the parking I couldn’t see calling for help, and when I got over there, closer, I saw it was these elderly women,” said Adinolfi, a father of three girls who was off-duty from his work as a firefighter that Monday night when the storm struck.
Adinolfi modestly recounted the tale on Thursday as he walked through his devastated community, saying, “that was it, that’s my story.” He also chided himself for staying back after his family left, noting it was “foolish.” He had done so to try and prevent flooding in his home, though his basement ultimately filled up with water.
As he passed his neighbors with a reporter, they called him a hero. He lightheartedly brushed that off.
Read more of the story herehttp://nbcnews.to/Rz3HHX
