Iselin Fire Chief Saved Drowning Girl, 4, In Ida Flooding In September

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — This Wednesday night, the chief of the Iselin Fire Department, plus two Iselin firefighters, will be honored by the 200 Club of Middlesex County for saving the life of a four-year-old Woodbridge girl who nearly drowned in the flood waters of Tropical Storm Ida on Sept. 1, 2021.

This is the storm that killed 30 people across the state in unprecedented flash flooding, including a 56-year-old Woodbridge woman who was fatally electrocuted as she tried to walk home from her job at the Woodbridge Walmart.

Chief Ryan Malheiro, ladder truck driver John Zairopoulos and firefighter Sandra Lynch will be honored in a ceremony and dinner at the Carteret Performing Arts Center Wednesday night.

On the night of Sept. 1, as rain lashed down, the Iselin Fire Department was dispatched to Carson Drive for four vehicles submerged in more than four feet of water.

Upon arrival to Carson Drive, they observed people shouting for help from their cars, which were under water.

Ryan noticed one man in particular in a panic, who yelled out that his daughter, almost five years old, got pulled from her father in the swift water.

Malheiro saw the girl in the water; he rushed into the raging waters and was able to secure the little girl, who was unconscious and unresponsive, said the 200 Club.

Malheiro brought her to safety and began CPR. He was able to have the girl expel the water she had inhaled and she regained consciousness. The girl was rushed to medical facility and made a full recovery.

"Chief Malheiro went above and beyond as he assisted multiple families in the water during this incident and did not stop until all were safe," said the 200 Club of Middlesex County in a statement.

When Tropical Storm Ida hit on the night of Sept. 1, 2021, it caused historic flash flooding across the state, tornadoes that leveled at least 20 homes and killed 30 people.

Nearby, also in Iselin that night, Sunanda Upadhye, was less than one minute away from her home on Gill Lane when she walked into a large puddle that she did not know contained downed electric wires, which were active. She was immediately killed by the electricity. Read that story: Woodbridge Woman Was Electrocuted Walking Home During Ida (Sept. 2021)

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