Oct 1, 2009 8:41 pm US/Eastern
Bronx Good Samaritan Seizes The Moment...Again!
Billy Cretan Saves Boy From Burning Building, Then Proposes To Girlfriend On National Television
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Billy Cretan is seen on home video carrying a 4-year-old boy who was overcome by smoke from an apartment fire down the stairs of a fire escape to safety on Sept. 30, 2009.
CBS
A reluctant hero who saved a young boy from a raging fire in the Bronx is the talk of the town Thursday.
Now, he's taking full advantage of his 15 minutes of fame with a very public commitment to the love of his life.
Billy Cretan seems to be handling his newfound fame the same way he saved a young boy's life Wednesday in the Bronx – with cool determination and a healthy dose of confidence.
"Did I look scared? No, it wasn't about that," Cretan said. "I was scared for the boy's life, and I wish I could have done more."
When Cretan saw smoke and flames shooting out of the apartment above his Bronx store, he dashed up the fire escape. Inside the burning apartment, he found four-year-old Christopher Ramcharran's limp body, and carried the boy to safety.
"You don't have time to think twice – you think long, you think wrong," Cretan said. "I kicked in gear, put the ladder down and I went upstairs and did the best I could."
On the fire escape, Cretan shielded the boy with his own body from falling glass and other debris.
"I felt his heartbeat; it was faint but all right. I made sure I protected him with the curtain 'because they were throwing glass from on top of the stairs," Cretan said, referring to the firefighters working feverishly above.
Firefighters eventually took over, and treated the boy for smoke inhalation.
Ramcharran's brother and father say they are eternally grateful to Cretan for risking his own life to save another.
"It's just really frightening," brother Bhesham Singh said. "He's a real hero, too, because he saved my brother."
"I have to praise him, and if I was a wealthier guy, I would give him something for what he had done for me, because my kids are my life," father Ragesh Ramcharran said.
Thursday morning, Cretan performed another brave act, proposing to his girlfriend on national television.
"It was the perfect moment, and I just took the opportunity – again, like I took the opportunity saving the boy," Cretan said.
Cretan, who was also treated for smoke inhalation, says he wants one more opportunity: to simply get out of the spotlight, and back to his store.
Four-year-old Christopher Ramcharran is listed in good condition at Jacobi Medical Center. He's expected to make a full recovery.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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