PHILADELPHIA -
Philadelphia fire commissioner Lloyd Ayers is doing his best to pour cold water on a smoldering controversy involving a hero firefighter.
Wednesday morning, firefighter Fran Cheney- who nearly lost his life in the York St. warehouse blaze that killed two of his colleagues in April- raced into a burning Higbee St. row home and gave his air mask to a woman, before carrying her to safety.
"I couldn't breathe," said Mary Jackson, "so he took the thing off his face and he put it on mine, and he carried me outside."
Jackson was safe.
Cheney collapsed.
He spent the night at the hospital with smoke inhalation.
Thursday, as hero and grateful victim were reunited, a clearly annoyed Cheney revealed he'd been visited by one of his bosses while in the hospital. The boss's reaction to Cheney giving up his air supply?
"I was told," said Cheney, 'that wasn't very smart.'"
On Friday, commissioner Ayers seemed anxious to snuff out any controversy.
"We stop and we look at that and we say, the outcome is okay, because he's safe- she's safe," said Ayers.
As for Cheney's hospital room scolding, Ayers called it an "internal" matter.
But the commissioner made clear that Cheney had broken the rules.
"Protocols are not sharing your air with someone," he said. But "the result made it worth it at that point, and that's how we look at it."
Ayers says the policy is in place for a reason- that if a firefighter gives his air mask to a victim and things go wrong, fellow firefighters may have to risk their lives to rescue the rescuer.
Ayers says Cheney will certainly not be reprimanded for breaking the rules, but the veteran firefighter made clear Thursday that- protocol or no protocol- he will continue to share his air supply with a victim, if necessary.
"I'm not gonna let my decision cost someone else their life."
