by KEREN DABUSH
An Ocean Hill man has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, thanks to the heroism of a team of firefighters.
Theodore Dinkins, 40, remained in stable condition yesterday, recovering after a brush with death last week that could have ended in tragedy if not for firefighters who pulled him, unconscious, from a burning brownstone.
One Bravest began resuscitating Dinkins as he was being lowered to the street in a cherry picker after they found him in cardiac arrest.
When Ladder 120 members arrived at 2134 Fulton St. shortly after 4 a.m. on Dec. 11, they immediately realized they would have to battle a serious blaze.
"Guys, bring your A-game!" Fire Department Lt. Robert Brown told his squad mates.
Flames and smoke were pouring out the second-floor windows of the three-story building, the rescuers recalled. Another man, Michael Watts, 43, was trapped on the floor above the fire.
Mike Twomey - a firefighter from Ladder 176, which had arrived on the scene moments earlier - was shouting to Watts through the smoke, trying to keep him calm as the other firefighters launched a rescue effort.
Lt. Robert Brown, Lt. David Dietz and Firefighter Glen Merkitch charged up the stairs, knocked down the door and found Watts straddling the window sill. Dietz and Twomey got the man out of the building and into a waiting ambulance.
Merkitch and Brown stayed behind and began searching the building on their hands and knees.
Merkitch reached a bedroom and found Dinkins lying unconscious in a fetal position. He had no pulse. The firefighters hoisted him out a window and into a tower ladder, where Twomey began resuscitation.
It took three minutes from the time Dinkins was found until he was put into an ambulance. He was taken to Brookdale University Hospital, where he is recovering.
Brown said the firefighters involved in the rescue will be nominated for a commendation from Mayor Bloomberg. But the men refused to take individual credit.
"It was a coordinated effort. Everyone was pulling together," Merkitch said.
As the men were recounting that eventful day, alarms sounded in the firehouse, and they jumped into the fire truck.
"That's the reality of it. Things change here in a second," Brown said. "We talk about something good and joke around one minute, and then the next, the men run out and risk their lives. But that's our job."
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