Atlantic City resident, off-duty fire captain rescue man from burning home

An Atlantic City resident and an off-duty city fire captain rescued a man from a burning home before firefighters were called Tuesday night. “Just (saved) this (guy’s) life with a guy I didn’t know was a firefighter,” Ab Green wrote in a Facebook Live video he posted about the fire on Connecticut Avenue. He was hoping to find the man who he shared the heroic moment with. Capt. Silvester Fonville doesn't have a Facebook, but he was able to talk about what happened with BreakingAC. Fonville said he saw the smoke from his home a couple of blocks away and decided to head over. He thought he would see the fire trucks. But instead, he heard a man yelling for help from the doorway of the second floor of the 3½-story home. Fonville and Green both ran up the outside stairs to the man. The flames were on the third floor, but the rescue was still a risk. “It wasn’t bad,” said Fonville — who is used to being in full gear when he runs toward a fire. “He was burned pretty bad,” Fonville said of the unidentified victim. “I guess he was having problems.” Green said  the man’s face was burned, “but he was breathing (when) they took him away to the hospital.” “The gentlemen that was there did a good job,” said the veteran firefighter. “He didn’t hesitate. He came right away and helped.” The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to the Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center and then transferred to Temple University Hospital, Fire Chief Scott Evans said. His condition was not available. Temple has a specialized burn center. Fonville said he wound up having to call in the fire, and the trucks responded within three minutes. He lauded the work they did. “Platoon 1 did a phenomenal job,” he said. “They gave it 110 percent, from the response time to fighting the fire. From the incident commander and deputy chief all the way to the junior guy. My hat’s off to them. They’re the best.” Fonville, who is also the fire union’s vice president, said it all happened despite the threat of salary and personnel cuts that still loom. “In spite of what’s going on with us, they went to work,” he said. Fonville has jumped to action off-duty before. Last February, he captured a man who he caught burglarizing his home. Richard Barber was sentenced to five years in prison for that crime, and is currently an inmate at a halfway house, according to state Department of Corrections records.