Paterson Man Rescues 92-Year-Old Woman From Fire

Authorities say a Paterson man kicked in the front door of a burning city home and helped carry a 92-year-old woman to safety.

Twenty-three-year-old Horace Ratigan was walking in the area when he saw flames coming from the home around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. He also saw 92-year-old Lisa Maury knocking on a second-floor window, calling for help.

Ratigan tells The Record newspaper that he instinctively kicked in the door and ran upstairs to get Maury, who uses a wheelchair. He then ran through the smoky home and got Maury outside, while another man got her wheelchair from the residence.

Maury was not injured in the fire. But she and three others who live in the home were displaced by the blaze.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.