FDNY chief from Malverne interrupts family vacation to save a life

Sometimes, even on the way to what's called The Happiest Place on Earth, you have to put out a few fires.

At least, that was the case for FDNY Deputy Chief  George  Healy, a resident of Malverne who had just embarked on an 18-hour drive to Disney World with his family early last week. That's when, on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, he stopped to help pull a man from a burning vehicle.

"Pretty much immediately I noticed the smoke, and I could see the orange glow and that just brought a new element of urgency to it," said Healy, a 34-year veteran of the FDNY.

And, he said, for firefighters and other first responders, "It doesn’t really matter if you’re in a uniform or out of it, when there’s a need, we take action."

Traffic had entirely stopped on the Belt Parkway when Healy, a deputy chief with Division 13 in Queens, noticed a fiery two-car crash up ahead.

The 56-year-old father of four left his car and ran along the highway to join a police officer in pulling an unconscious man from the back seat.

According to Healy, the passenger side was too damaged to open, so the police officer smashed the driver’s window to open the car door. Healy disentangled the man from the seat belt as the car filled with smoke and, with the help of a police officer, pulled the victim from the car. No one was in the front seats. 

The man was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in stable condition, the FDNY said.

Healy said his family was "excited" by the interruption because, although they have seen him leap into action before, they have never seen him intervene in such a dramatic way.

"This was very surreal because they realized that Dad’s out there and the car’s on fire ... but by the grace of God, I think it was divine intervention," he said. "Fortunately everything worked out for that individual," he said.

After the rescue, Healy returned, got back into the driver's seat, and resumed the family's journey. Everyone fell asleep as they hit the road again.

"It's just what the first responder community does. We respond, we react, we assist, and then life goes on," he said.

Malverne Mayor Tim Sullivan praised Healy for his quick thinking.

Healy "truly exemplifies a life of unselfish bravery," Sullivan said. "We could not be more proud of him."

Healy spoke with Newsday while still on vacation with his family at Disney. His four children range in age from middle school to college.

"They work, they do sports, they have lives, so we don't have much of an opportunity to kind of be a nuclear family," he said, "and this is our week a year to take a breath and reconnect."

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.