An elderly man is recounting the race to rescue first responders who embarked on a mission to save him from falling off his own home’s roof. James Manitaras said a chore he had done many times before turned into a dangerous decision on Wednesday. He was blowing leaves off his roof when he slipp ed and hung on for dear life until rescue arrived. “Since I have so much foliage around here, I get up on the roof and blow it off,” he said. “So I decided I would get down and crawl it. Unfortunately, because of the pitch of the roof, every time I would roll over, I would go more towards the edge of the roof.” Soon enough, he realized his legs were hanging off the side of his home, and there was no way to get back up. Luckily, a neighbor saw him in need of help and quickly called 911. “My neighbor just happened to walk out and saw my legs over the side of the house and called 911,” said Manitaras. Within minutes, Tampa Police and Fire Rescue units responded to his home. “As soon as I heard the sirens, I thought Oh yes, this is just what I need,” said Manitaras. Body camera footage captures officers holding the man’s arms and pulling him back up onto the roof. “You gotta reach up, reach up, we’ve got you,” said the officers in the body camera video. The elderly man said that if it had not been for the quick actions of the first responders and his neighbor, he would’ve fallen three stories. “It would have been a hard landing,” said Manitaras. Now that he is back on solid ground, he said his wife has warned him to avoid getting on the roof and to have someone else complete that chore for him. “She’s been on me for years not to do it. But when you build a home, and you go up there, and you blow it every year or twice a year, you get confident,” said Manitaras. He said the worst-case scenario occurred, leaving him tired and sore. “I was truly the victim of that,” he said. But he’s thankful for the group of officials who rescued him. “I’ve said thank you so many times. I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for them,” said Manitaras. As for the next time his roof is filled with foliage, he says he will listen to his wife and hire someone else to get the job done. ...read more read less