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Andy the "Hero"

8K views 175 replies 16 participants last post by  J. Corwin 
#1 ·
If we can start threads for silly pictures and names of cereal I think we can start one for this.
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Andy's Recount of Last Night's Fire to Come Shortly
by: webmaster


5/1/2004 -- AR.com spoke with Andy shortly after the incident in Rome. As reports have indicated, Andy suffered no injuries, but is slightly shell-shocked by what took place. His recount of the story is mind-boggling, and his actions were truly heroic. Stay tuned as we will be providing much more information, including first-hand description by Andy himself.
 
#102 ·
there was a huge article in the Rome paper the day it happened but I couldn't tell ya what it said!
 
#103 ·
Here is a little bit different perspective.

Roddick's reaction to fire not surprising
By KEITH NIEBUHR, Times Staff Writer
Published May 4, 2004

John Tobias had his ringer on vibrate.

When he awoke, he noticed 16 calls had been missed during the night. That's when Tobias, an agent for SFX Sports, knew something was up. He soon discovered that while he slept a fire that resulted in three deaths early Saturday morning had swept through the Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi in Rome, where some of his biggest clients were guests.

One was Andy Roddick.

"I talked to (Roddick) four or five hours after he had gotten out of the hotel," Tobias said. "He was really calm. Obviously, he was very disappointed and emotional about the people that lost their lives. He was shaken."

Immediately after the incident, Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and the world's No. 2-ranked player, gave a few interviews, but he has since declined requests to talk about what happened. According to various reports, Roddick, staying in a sixth-floor suite, pulled hotel guests on his floor into his room so they could get fresh air from his balcony. He also assisted others, fellow player Sjeng Schalken included, in landing safely on his terrace by catching them as they jumped from higher floors.

"He said he was woken up in the middle of the night ... he was using the bathroom when he smelled smoke," Tobias said. "He opened the door and saw a bunch of smoke in the doorway, and he saw people trying to find good air, so he shuttled them into his room. He had a huge balcony."

While Roddick, 21, stayed in his room, SFX clients Bob and Mike Bryan and Paradorn Srichaphan left the building and waited out front for others to emerge. As time passed and they didn't see Roddick, they wondered about his safety.

"The other players were worried sick," Tobias said. "They said they were sitting outside a good hour before Andy came out. They were really worried about him. ... When people needed help, he helped them. He wasn't pulling babies out of a fire, but he stayed in the hotel and tried to make sure people were okay. That's just the type of guy he is."


Sounds a bit as if Andy is a little sick of the Andy Hero press too. :)
 
#104 ·
The Los Angeles Times
Posted May 3 2004

ROME · U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick was instrumental in rescue efforts at a luxury hotel where a deadly fire broke out Saturday, helping a fellow player and others to safety.

Roddick, the world's No. 2-ranked player, assisted seven people, including ATP Tour player Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands and his wife, Ricki, to safety before he got out of the Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi, which was housing players preparing to play in the Italian Open this week.

Three people -- a Canadian couple and a Georgia man -- died in the blaze.

None of the players was injured, said Nicola Arzani, communications director of the ATP tour.

Roddick helped the others, trapped a floor above, get down to a large balcony outside his suite.

From there, they were rescued by firefighters.

Roddick said he lost everything in his sixth-floor suite to the fire, which gutted the third floor of the exclusive five-star hotel, including his rackets, which were melted.

"I woke up to go to the bathroom and noticed it smelled a little bit like fire in my room," said Roddick, who lives part of the year in Boca Raton. "I couldn't figure out what it was.

"So I opened the front door and a cloud of black smoke came in and pushed me back a little bit. ...

"I went out to my balcony, which kind of went around the whole hotel. And when I got out there I saw Sjeng Schalken up on the seventh floor, which was probably about 10 feet above.

"I guess he had four American tourists with him and an Italian guy.

"So they basically jumped from the seventh floor to my balcony area so they could get away from the smoke.

"I just kind of caught them, caught Sjeng first and then his wife. ...

"I wasn't thinking about it too much during the actual thing, I think it was instinctive and there was a lot adrenaline going."

The fire started at about 5:15 a.m. on the third floor, police said.

Police identified the dead as James Lawery, 58, from Georgia, and a Canadian couple in their 60s, Bernice Mary Joan Busque and Paul Emile Busque.

The fire forced evacuation of the hotel's 350 guests, including players Marat Safin of Russia, Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina, Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Robby Ginepri of Marietta, Ga.

The Italian Open begins today.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
#105 ·
Obviously, he's annoyed. The weekend Today show made him give an interview. EXTRA had a clip of that...he had to repeat what he said before again-kind of like his tennis interviews.
I don't care anymore about Rome. Andy just get some sleep and prepare for the rest of the year!
I had a feeling that something bad would affect Andy right before this week. :fiery:
 
#107 ·
yea I saw that little thing on Extra... too bad we missed the Today Weekend interview. But I'm sure it was the S.O.S.
 
#108 ·
his report finally posted at AR.com

Andy Recounts the Tragedy in Rome.
by:


5/5/2004 --

As many of you know, based on several articles posted to the site, Andy spoke to his Mom, Blanche, during the fire incident to help guide him through. The other person who Andy called from the terrace was Ken Meyerson, his agent as he wanted him to know what was going on and that he was ok.

Shortly after the madness ended, Andy spoke with his publicist and sister-in-law, Ginger. Ginger had this conversation recorded so that Andy would have to only go through this once.

Therefore, please find below Andy's recount of his experience early Saturday morning in Rome. Please keep in mind that three people passed away in this tragedy, and while Andy's actions were heroic, lives were lost, and therefore, it is a sensitive issue.

GR: Talk me through this

AR - I woke up to go to the bathroom and notice the smell of smoke. At first it smelled like electrical. I thought at first something was wrong with a converter. As I got closer to bathroom and door I could really smell smoke and when I put my hand on the door it was warm. I open the door and a black cloud of smoke billowed into my room, so I quickly shut the door.

GR: What were you thinking?

AR - Ok lets figure this thing out.

GR: You were calm?

AR- I kept my head. And knew to not start panicking.

GR: Right.

AR - I went out, I had a big wrap around porch on the 6th floor and there were people on the roof of the 7th floor. 7th floor was completely under smoke - that was were two people died of smoke inhalation. I was like ok, you guys should probably get down to this porch area, the smokes going to be bad but you guys have no where to go there. So, they were jumping and I was literally catching them, like six or seven people.

GR: Did they speak English or were they Italian.

AR - They were American tourists. One of them was Sjeng Schalken and his wife. If those people had stayed they probably would have suffered from smoke inhalation.

GR: So how long were you on your balcony?

AR - 45min to an 1hour?

GR: How long was it before you saw rescue trucks?

AR - We saw the trucks but the ladders were not coming near us.

GR : Were Brad and Doug or Grant with you.

AR- No, Brad and Doug were on another floor.

GR : So they were out and did they know where you were?

AR - No they didn't know where I was.

GR: So you were by yourself?

AR - Until Sjeng Schalken and his wife the 4 older Americans and 1 Italian dude. And I caught all of them. It was probably like a ten-foot drop from the 7th floor to the 6th floor.

GR: Right

AR - And they just like jump off and I caught all of them

GR: Was your adrenaline going?

AR - They were like 140-160 pound women and I was catching them like they were a basketball.

GR: Are you hurt?

AR- On my wrist I have some scratches and my back is stiff, I guess from catching people. I didn't have shoes on during the whole thing so my feet are cut up.

GR: It's so surreal on this end.

AR - I'm ok. I think I'm still in shock. Right now, I am trying to focus on preparing for my match, although at a time like this tennis feels trivial. Last nights tragedy seems surreal. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. We were very fortunate that none of players or families were harmed.
 
#110 ·
It might've... this interview was done just a few hours after the whole thing so it's hard to say where Andy's head was a few days after that.
 
#112 ·
I wouldn't bet against Hairy Chest.;)

Thanks for the ar.com piece.
 
#117 ·
:hug::)
 
#119 ·
Don't be disappointing Mani now. :(
 
#122 ·
:hug: for Carito :)
 
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