Doctors say they're amazed Mr. Ware didn't suffer worse injuries in his blazing four-story fall after going to assist the girl.
Ms. Gray's 4-year-old daughter, Genine, was trapped at a window of the North Fairmount apartment building while a fire raged inside. Mr. Ware was among the firefighters who rushed to save the girl.
Genine and Ms. Gray went to the hospital for a simple reason, she said Monday: ''I want him to see my baby ... I want him to see her,'' she said. ''I went up to the hospital on Sunday but they told me to come back today. It's a blessing that he saved her. It was like, forget my life, I'm going to save her. He risked his life, and I have my baby.''
Mr. Ware remained in critical condition Monday at University Hospital. At a hospital news conference Monday evening, Mr. Ware's mother, Rebecca
Ware-Stewart, and wife, Monique, said he is alert and recovering slowly.
''We have no doubt that God performed a miracle on Jerrold,'' Ms. Ware-Stewart said.
Doctors say the same. Mr. Ware sustained no injuries to the spinal cord in his fall; his most serious injuries are to the lungs, which are inflamed from smoke inhalation, and to his left arm, which was shattered.
''That's not something we expect to see without multiple injuries,'' Dr. Jay Johannigman said of Mr. Ware's fall.
Firefighter Joseph ''Tony'' Lehman, who is in fair condition at University Hospital with burns to the right cheek, chin and hands, said at Monday's news conference that the fire was unusual, because the apartment had an interior stairwell that led from the third flood to the fourth.
When the apartment caught fire, the stairwell acted as a ''chimney'' for the billowing waves of heat. Mr. Lehman also was caught in the flashover that rolled up to the fourth floor.
''I've learned enough to know that this is not a usual situation,'' he said.
Ms. Gray said the apartment had smoke detectors two weeks ago, but when a ceiling caved in and was repaired, the detectors were removed and not reinstalled.
''It's not like I had detectors and they weren't working. I didn't have detectors because they were not replaced,'' she said. ''I'd call every day for two weeks and complain but nothing was done.''
Cincinnati Fire Division Capt. Lacey Calloway, commander of the fire investigation unit, said authorities won't know the status of the smoke detectors until today. ''We need to look at work records and talk to the property management and the building owner,'' he said.
A representative from Metro Management, which owns the eight-unit apartment building, could not be reached for comment.
The fire apparently began with an unattended burner left on high on the kitchen stove in Ms. Gray's apartment, Capt. Calloway said. Ms. Gray said she did not know her apartment was on fire until her daughter went into a bathroom Saturday and began to shout: ''Mommy, stop, drop and roll,'' Ms. Gray said.
The girl had picked up the fire safety tip by watching the public television children's show Barney & Friends. She put it to good use.
''I went into the hallway and started knocking on doors to get people moving,'' Ms. Gray said. When she returned to the room where her daughter was, she could not see her because of the thick smoke but repeatedly tried to enter the room anyway.
''I guess I passed out because when I came to, somebody was dragging me out,'' she said. Efforts by neighbors to reach the girl, who had rolled along the floor to the window, were unsuccessful.
Smoke billowed out the window above the girl as she sobbed and awaited rescue. ''She said she was going to jump. I told her don't jump, don't jump,'' Ms. Gray said.
A firefighter on a ladder finally rescued Genine as a wave of flame rolled through the apartment, trapping Lt. Ware, whose clothing then caught on fire. He could not escape back through the building and jumped from a window.
''I didn't know it was a person. I thought it was a fireball when he came out,'' Ms. Gray said. ''That's what he looked like: a fireball.''
Ms. Gray said she would never be able to repay Lt. Ware and the other firefighters who responded to the call. ''They put their lives on hold to save my baby,'' she said.
Monique Ware said her husband probably will return to firefighting once he recovers. Doctors hope to ween him from a breathing machine within a couple of weeks.
''Jerrold is a very strong man,'' she said. ''He loves firefighting. I think if he gets full recovery and his strength, he'll want to come back.''
Previous stories
BURNED RESCUER ASKS FATE OF LITTLE GIRL Monday, Sept. 1, 1997
FELLOW FIREFIGHTER KNOWS WARE'S PAIN Monday, Sept. 1, 1997
SIXTH SENSE WARNED OF DANGER Monday, Sept. 1, 1997
FOUR FIREFIGHTERS HURT IN RESCUE Aug. 31, 1997
HOW IT HAPPENED (96K GIF) Aug. 31, 1997
