Overbrook's Heroes

Overbrook's Heroes . . .

Pictured

below are the three Overbrook HS football players who entered a burning house near 56th and Girard to save an 87-year-old woman. L to R, they're Calem Bridgette, Yusuf Bangura and Markeyse Carter. We salute these brave young men and thank them for their heroic

act! Below the photo is the story that appeared in the 9/14/06 Daily

News . Click here for photos of the guys' 9/19 visit to the NovaCare Complex,

where they had a surprise meeting with Donovan McNabb and received two tickets apiece to the Monday night game vs. the Packers. Click here for a follow-up story on ESPN.com.

Teen saves woman in fire By TED SILARY AS THEY WALKED south on 56th Street early

Tuesday evening and neared Girard Avenue, Yusuf Bangura and a

half-dozen Overbrook High football teammates thought someone was

having "a serious barbecue." But as the young men got closer, they

realized... The smoke was too thick. And too dark. And it

certainly did not smell like food. Plus, it was pouring from the

top of a house. A few concerned people were gathered outside.

No one was lending hands-on assistance, even though "Help me!"

screams could be heard. "I didn't really think," Bangura said. "I just

reacted. There was no discussion among us. I just said, 'Yo, I'm

goin' in.' " Yusuf Bangura, 16, a sophomore, of course

loves the idea of being a football hero, and that's what he was

- thanks to a touchdown reception - back on Sept. 2, when

Overbrook opened its season with a 12-10 win at Haverford

School. But this performance? It quite likely saved a

life, and that's decidedly more heroic. Bangura, followed by teammates Calem Bridgette

and Markeyse Carter, charged into the smoke-filled house on W.

Girard Avenue near 55th Street a shade before 7 p.m. The group

had been walking home from practice. After first smacking into the banister and

slightly injuring his hip, Bangura dashed up the steps and,

relying on shouts of panic to pinpoint a location, found an

elderly woman in a back room. Bangura scooped up the woman, later identified

as Rosa Lewis, 87 - "Like you'd carry a baby, in front of my

chest," he said - and scrambled back downstairs to safety. The drama was not over. Bangura has asthma and had endured a serious

attack, thoroughly terrifying his teammates and coaches during

one of Overbrook's late-summer workouts. Now he was having another. "He was talking OK at first," Bridgette said.

"Then, he started coughing and having problems." A woman came from across the street to give

Bangura a bottle of water. A policeman soon arrived to provide

further assistance. "I had to calm down," Bangura said. "I was

scared it was going to be like that day at practice again." When an ambulance arrived, Bangura and Lewis

spent time inside it together. He was taken to Children's

Hospital, where he was held several hours for observation.

Lewis, in a second ambulance, was treated at the Hospital of the

University of Pennsylvania and released. Battalion Chief Willie Williams said the fire

had been caused by faulty wiring. Bangura was back in school

yesterday, and at practice. As the workout began, assistant David Carter

gathered the Panthers/Hilltoppers and explained what had

happened. Most, of course, already knew. "As a family, you need to give it up for your

brothers!" Carter said. There was wild applause. "And I need to give you big ups, too!" Carter

added. His clapping produced a second round of deep

appreciation. Earlier, coach Ken Sturm said of Bangura's

heroics: "It's incredible, isn't it? This kid really deserves

some good attention. True, there are some kids out here doing

bad things. But there are a lot like Yusuf, and they need

to be recognized." Bridgette said he and Markeyse Carter followed

Bangura into the house because they didn't want him to go it

alone. "We were so scared," Bridgette said. "You

couldn't see anything. We only found the steps because my foot

hit into them. "I'm not sure how long it took. Maybe 10 to 15

seconds. Just when we were thinking we should run up there, too,

we could hear Yusuf carrying the woman down the steps. He was so

brave. You never think you'll know someone who does something

that brave... I guess all three of us were brave." Said Bangura: "My adrenaline was pumping. My

heart was racing. I just kept thinking, 'I have to get this lady out .' I couldn't see. And the smoke was hurting my

throat. "She's probably somebody's mother. Somebody's

grandmother. I know if it was my mom or grandmom, or even me ,

I'd want to get help, too." Yesterday at 'Brook, best- known as Wilt

Chamberlain's alma mater, news of Bangura's actions spread

quickly. "Some kids were calling me 'Superman,' " he

said, sheepishly. "And a hero. "Then, they made an announcement over the

loudspeaker. I was in my African-American-history class. Some

people didn't know it was me. When they saw others reacting,

they were like, 'That Yusuf is YOU?!' " He laughed. "That was a weird experience." Lewis' neighbors surveyed the remains of her

charred home last night and reflected on the heroic act that

saved her life. "It's great to see that there's still good

people like that walking around," said neighbor Brett Reed. Bangura, who lives on Alden Street, near 57th

and Race streets, said his mother, Gwendolyn Lambert, was

bursting with pride Tuesday night and yesterday. "She said she was amazed that someone like me

could do something like that," he said. "She couldn't praise me enough." She was not alone. Staff writer David

Gambacorta contributed to this report.