NY Daily News

When firefighter John Jacovina pulled her from the crumbled Sheetrock and shattered glass, he feared Duaa Al Ghaithi would not live to see her sixth birthday.

She had been burned over 60% of her body in a ferocious gas explosion that ripped through her Harlem apartment building, killing her mother.

Jacovina could barely believe his eyes on Wednesday as Duaa climbed in his lap, flashed him a big grin and gave her hero a tender and appreciative peck on the cheek.

"I always wanted to see her again - she's really cute," the 37-year-old firefighter gushed.

The reunion occurred on the stoop of a Manhattan homeless shelter, where Duaa's father and siblings have spent part of the last 10 months as she was nursed back to life at St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, Queens.

"My niece told me to get her a rabbit; she reminds me of my niece," Jacovina said as he and Duaa traded high-fives. "She's smart, she's precocious. She's a good kid, I can feel it."

It was a miracle anyone survived the ferocious Oct. 6 gas explosion at the W.119th St. apartment building. Fire inspectors have not determined what sparked the blast.

Duaa's mother, Alouf Hassan, 29, died from her injuries. Her sister, Lina, 3, was blinded; and her sisters, Twka, 5, and Afaf, 1, were also injured.

Little Duaa was among the last pulled from the devastation, the survivor with the most serious injuries to overcome. In addition to her burns, her lips, mouth and trachea were scorched by the searing heat.

Jacovina of Ladder 14 and Lt. Tom Keery of Ladder 26 teamed up and entered the wrecked apartment with little hope. Then they heard the cries of Duaa and Lina from beneath the rubble.

"She must have heard us, she let out a cry; then we knew exactly where she was," said Jacovina. "The Sheetrock had fallen and made kind of a teepee. We pulled it off of her, and there she was, standing up with her arms open."

Firefighter Jermaine Martin, 31, recalled Jacovina and Keery emerging from the apartment building with Duaa and Lina in their strong arms.

"I felt bad for them, they were so tiny," Martin said. "They were burned pretty bad. They definitely look good now."

Duaa's father, Rassas Al Ghaithi, embraced each of the firefighters who saved his children on their darkest day, hugging Jacovina the longest.

Tears filled the 29-year-old Yemenite immigrant's eyes, and his voice was choked with gratitude. "Oh, my God," he said. "Thank you so much. Thank you, brother."

Firefighter Chris Fenyo of Ladder 14 gave Al Ghaithi, who lost everything in the explosion, a $500 check from the fire company's special victims fund. The family is moving out of the shelter into a South Ozone Park house next week.

"I appreciate so much what you did for my daughters," Al Ghaithi told Jacovina. "I can't thank you enough."

Thinking of his sweet little girls, he told Jacovina, "Whenever I see my daughters, I will think of you."