Mayor Booker & Security Detail Rush to Help In House Fire
The mayor of Newark has many jobs operating the city. Overseeing the administration, bringing business to the city, enforcement…and even saving lives.
After a television interview on April 12, the mayor returned home with his security detail that night, only to find that a neighbor’s home on Hawthorne Avenue was in flames. Detective Alex Rodriguez, one of the members of the detail, rescued two women before Booker and the others went into the burning building. The intrepid group reached the third floor through flames and smoke to rescue a woman on that floor.
Once the fire department arrived, Booker and the third-floor victim were taken to University Hospital for treatment. The mayor had second-degree burns on his right hand and smoke inhalation, but is expected to recover. No details on the woman are available at this time.
Before going to UMDNJ, Booker tweeted, “Thanks 2 all who are concerned. Just suffering smoke inhalation. “We got the woman out of the house. We are both off to hospital. I will b ok.”
“I suddenly had the realization that I can’t find this woman,” said Mayor Booker in a press conference on April 13. “I look behind me and see the flames and I think, ‘I'm not going to get out of here.’ Suddenly I was at peace with the fact that I was going to jump out the window.”
The mayor was quick to not take all the credit, acknowledging the help of others who assisted in getting everyone out safely.
Booker also shrugged off any type of hero comparison, saying, “I think that is way over the top. First of all, there are people that do this every day. I feel very grateful and lucky to be here with you today.”
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