By Joseph Kohut

The Times-Tribune

SCRANTON, Pa. — Deep inside the smoky and pitch-black third floor of the Sandone Tire warehouse on Wyoming Avenue, shortly before the smoldering building would become a fireball that would shine like a torch Wednesday night, Scranton firefighter Lt. Kelly Hopkins and three others ran dangerously low on air.

They were lost.

Visibility was zero. Stacks of tires, soon to ignite and continue to smolder through Friday night, flanked them. Their hose line, which firefighters are trained to follow out when they can't see, was wrapped and tangled around the tires. The four firefighters were disoriented and lost more air with each breath they took. Lt. Hopkins, a well-respected 29-year veteran with the city fire department, called "mayday" at 7:16 p.m.

"The hairs on the back of our necks went up," Scranton Fire Chauffeur James Rivers said. "He's been through everything. You know when he calls a mayday it's serious."

Mr. Rivers, the first firefighter in the building to rescue the four, recounted the experience Friday while still working to extinguish the fire.

On Friday, demolition crews worked to tear down the still smoking ruin to extinguish the blaze, fueled by 35,000 to 50,000 burning tires.

All four firefighters escaped from the building with Mr. Rivers' help. Lt. Hopkins, 55, was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center for observation. He was treated and released, said hospital spokeswoman Westyn Hinchey.

Scranton Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno lauded Mr. Rivers' actions on Friday. He said the 37-year-old is a "great firefighter" on a team of great firefighters.

"I would say (Mr. Rivers) averted tragedy," Chief DeSarno said.

Mr. Rivers said he heard the mayday and entered the building. He couldn't see either. He felt his way up to the third floor by following the hose line up a fire escape.

He moved slowly. He called out. They heard him and called back.

"We had no clue if there were holes in the floors," he said. "They had chutes in there that they used to shoot the tires down in and that was close to the door we entered into. So obviously, you had to sound the floors as you're going in to make sure there are no holes."

That slowed his movement. Mr. Rivers didn't know what he would find when he reached them. His adrenaline surged. He wanted to move faster, get there now, but had to keep calm.

"Just like they had to keep calm," Mr. Rivers said.

Mr. Rivers, who has been with the fire department for 12 years, found the firefighters unharmed 50 to 60 feet from the door. He did a head count. Four there.

"Disoriented," Mr. Rivers said, describing them. "Obviously scared because they had no clue where they were in the building. They knew if they ran out of oxygen they were in deep trouble."

Lt. Hopkins was out of air. Another firefighter had five or six minutes left, Mr. Rivers said.

"As soon as they saw me they were happy," Mr. Rivers said. "They were excited to hear a firefighter's voice."

Carefully, he led them out. Fresher air greeted them. EMTs loaded Lt. Hopkins onto a stretcher. Chief DeSarno came up and embraced the veteran firefighter.

They were safe, but the night was young. Demolishing the building and extinguishing the fire may take days. Firefighters will continue to maintain a presence until then, officials said.

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(c)2015 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)

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