Firefighter critically injured in Newark, NJ fire released from hospital

BRONX, New York (WPVI) -- A Newark firefighter who was critically injured in a blaze at a tire shop was released from the hospital Tuesday as his fellow firefighters applauded.

Watch the tearful moment in the video player above.

WABC-TV reports, on December 30, Firefighter Paul Leber, 38, responded to a building on Park Avenue along with other members of Engine 7, including a probationary firefighter, after the fire broke out shortly after 9 p.m.

As conditions worsened, they were ordered out of the building. As they were exiting, Leber became disoriented and members of Engine 7 and Rescue 1 went back into the building with other firefighters and rescued him.

Leber, a 10-year veteran, was initially transported to University Hospital for treatment and was later moved to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

Firefighter Leber fought back tears as he was loaded into a waiting ambulance for transport to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by arson detectives from the Newark Fire Division.

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