Man lowers kids off roof during fire

PAVILION, N.Y. (WIVB) - Fast-moving flames quickly spread through a home in Genesee County after a kerosene heater fell over on the first floor.

Four children inside the home on Telephone Road in Pavilion panicked when flames broke out around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and ran upstairs to their room, and 26-year-old Jessie Rosenbaum hurried after them. He managed to help them out a second-story window over a porch and then lowered each one off the roof. Rosenbaum then jumped to safety, injuring his back.

Pavilion Fire Chief Paul Dougherty said, "I'd say they're lucky to get out given the fact that they ran to the second floor. They could have easily been trapped up there. Had they not been able to get out of the window or had the porch become involved, they could have fallen through into the porch. They could have easily been a tragedy running up to the second floor like that."

Rosenbaum is recovering from his injuries at UMMC in Batavia. No one else was injured in the blaze.

The home, owned by Teresa Martinez, was a total loss.