Staten Island man, 20, pushed through blinding smoke to escape fire that gutted Staten Island home

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Staten Island man is lucky to be alive after escaping a fire that gutted his family’s Great Kills home.

It was just after 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12 when Angelo DeFillipis, 20, was awakened by his mom Stormie as she slammed the front door while leaving their Elverton Avenue home. It was the unplanned wake-up call however that led Angelo downstairs, where he smelled something burning. Investigating further, he found himself face to face with flames shooting up from the basement.