Firefighter Michael McGuire continues to fight for his life Friday night. He remains in critical but stable condition, and his wife says the next two days will be crucial to his survival.
In an interview from the hospital, Angelique McGuire appealed for prayers from his friends and firefighters from across the region.
"He really needs as many prayers as possible from everybody, everywhere," said Angelique McGuire. "They have to wait the weekend to answer a lot of questions."
40 year old firefighter, Michael McGuire risked his own life Monday morning when a towering inferno broke out at the Norman Blumberg Houses in North Philadelphia.
The fire broke out on the 8th floor with hundreds of people trapped inside.
Witnesses say McGuire ran inside and up 11 floors to rescue people. But in doing so, his oxygen pack ran out, and according to other firefighters, he ate a lot of smoke.
Medical teams at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania put him in a hyperbaric chamber to try and save his life.
"Those treatments are finished, and they were highly successful in terms of getting the carbon monoxide out of his blood," explains Mrs. McGuire. "They were very successful. It's his lungs that they're worried about right now."
Michael is the son of the Late John McGuire, Sr., a long time, highly regarded Battalion Chief with the Philadelphia Fire Department.
At one point, all three of his sons were Police officers in the 24th district before Michael and his brother John Jr. decided to join the fire department.
Angelique, a school teacher, learned that among the people her husband saved was one of her students.
"He was in that building with his little brother visiting their mother so essentially, my husband saved my student, and it's just unbelievable, it's amazing," said Mrs. McGuire.
Even more compelling is that Michael and Angelique, who are the proud parents of 8 year old Madison, have seen more than their share of adversity. Both of them are cancer survivors.
As Michael clings to life Friday night, his wife made an appeal.
"Just to rally as many prayers from the whole community as possible for him, because we believe strongly in the power of prayer, we are a very spiritual family, we've been through a lot of other traumatic things in our family, and I feel like we can get through this," Mrs. McGuire said.
