Philadelphia firefighter won't be penalized for giving his air mask to victim

This photo shows Philadelphia fireman Fran Cheney and Mary Jackson, the woman he rescued from a warehouse fire. (MyFoxPhiladelphia.com)

A Philadelphia firefighter who rescued a woman during a warehouse fire will not face disciplinary action for giving her his breathing mask as they escaped the flames.

Fran Cheney gave his mask to Mary Jackson Wednesday after finding her gasping for breath in a smoked-choked room on the second floor of the warehouse.

“I take a quick breath, rip my helmet off, give her the mask – it’s on positive pressure, which means it just blows smoke away from her and I just say, ‘Let’s go,’” Cheney told MyFoxPhiladelphia.com.

Cheney then carried Jackson to safety before collapsing and being hospitalized with smoke inhalation.

Cheney told MyFoxPhiladelphia.com that one of his bosses criticized his actions during a hospital visit.

“I was told,” said Cheney, ‘that wasn’t very smart.’”

“Protocols are not sharing your air with someone,” Lloyd Ayers told MyFoxPhiladelphia.com.

But “the result made it worth it at that point, and that’s how we look at it,” he said.

Ayers says Cheney will not be reprimanded for breaking the rules.

Cheney also gave Jackson $500 in his overtime pay to get her back on her feet. He said he’d do the same thing again.