See it: Man scales burning Brooklyn row house to help rescue kids
NEW YORK -- A man scaled the front of a burning building in Brooklyn on Friday to rescue kids trapped inside, including an infant.
It's not a Marvel comic; it's straight out of Brooklyn.
Video shows East New York's own Spider-Man, Juan Dilone, climbing a three-story building to rescued three children from a fire; one of them was just 3 months old, wearing only a diaper.
"My wife was in the window. She saw the guy yelling, help help help, so we see the smoke coming out through the roof, and she told me, go, go help," Dilone said.
Dilone says he heard the screams and saw the smoke and a desperate father trying to get his kids out through a window.
"A lot of smoke was coming out, but all I got on my mind was the kids, you know, try to save them," he said.
That's when he sprang into action.
"I run. I climbed to the wall to try to reach the kids, so the father passed the kid to me, then I grab it, pass it to them," Dilone said.
He climbed up the building to a third-floor window, held on with one hand and got each child out, handing them to neighbors who gathered.
"They was crying, so once we get down, all the neighbors covered them with blankets," Dilone said.
He tells CBS2 his childhood in the Dominican Republic helped.
"I've been climbing since I was a baby back home, you know. Climb trees, jumping around, so it was like normal," Dilone said.
It happened around noon Friday on Hendrix Street near Sutter Avenue.
Officials say when firefighters arrived, they were able to rescue the parents and one other child who was trapped inside.
Now, Dilone's daughter isn't the only one who thinks he's a superhero.
"I call myself Spider-Man in front of my daughter. She's laughing," he said.
He just thinks he was at the right place at the right time.
"Thank God I was here. He put me here by that time so I could help them, to save them, you know," Dilone said.
We've learned the family who was rescued was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, but they are all expected to survive.
Meanwhile, Dilone's message is: if you see someone in need, help them if you can.
