A Brooklyn firefighter died while battling a blaze at a Williamsburg high rise last night. Officials say that a fire broke out on the 19th floor of a 21-story public housing building at 75 Wilson Street around 9 p.m. Saturday. Lt. Gordon Matthew Ambelas, 40, a 14-year veteran of the FDNY, was searching for residents on the 19th floor when he got stuck in an apartment and fatally injured.
"We have lost a real hero tonight and our hearts are heavy," Mayor de Blasio said at a press conference last night outside Woodhull Medical Center (you can see it above). "I ask every New Yorker to keep the lieutenant in their prayers."
"He was trapped deep into the [burning] apartment and he did sustain multiple injuries," added FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. "Ambelas went into the apartment to search for life and did not come out, and by the time his brother firefighters found him, it was too late for him."
Last month, Ambelas was honored for helping to save 7-year old Mendy Gottlieb, who got his arm and head trapped in a roll-down security gate and was pulled 15 feet off the ground. Ambelas and fellow firefighter Lashawnda Brinson used the "jaws of life" to get him out, and were given plaques: "[This incident] shows that FDNY members are always ready to help others," he said at the time. "It was great teamwork all around."
Ambelas is survived by his wife, Nanette, and two daughters. More than 100 firefighters were called for the fire last night, which was under control by 10:30 p.m.; four other people, including two firefighters, had minor injuries.
