Firefighter feels the heat on 'Millionai...

Firefighter feels the heat on 'Millionai...

Heidi Gutman/Valleycrest/Disney

Rich Solero from Shirley, L.I., with ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire host Meredith Vieira, appears on the show Tuesday and Wednesday.

Even New Yorks Bravest get a little nervous.

Firefighter Rich Solero, with Engine 39, Ladder 16 on the upper East Side, was in shock when he was picked for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

Hes on this Tuesday and Wednesdays episodes on ABC/Ch. 7 at 12:30 p.m. Its part of the shows American Pride Week, saluting the military, firefighters and teachers.

A glitch in the studios computers revealed that Solero had been selected a few minutes before host Meredith Vieira had the chance to call him to the stage.

It was total shock, says the 39-year-old firefighter. They messed up because they put my name on the screen It was a good three or four minutes that I sat there and waited. I knew that I was going to be called.

So Im starting to almost hyperventilate, he adds. Im like, Oh my God. Im going to go up there. I was all nervous.

Solero doesnt calm down much onstage.

I really dont want anyone watching this because I was so nervous that my lips were sticking to my teeth, he says. I think I might have even said to Meredith, I need water.

Shes reading me the first question, and Im looking up at the board like I couldnt even read it, adds Solero. Im like, I usually make fun of people up here. Now look at me. I cant even read.

He must have done something right. While results arent revealed until the episodes air, Solero hints at a big win.

When I called my wife, Tracy said, So, how was it? he recalls. I said, Oh, it was fun. I got a couple of free T-shirts out of the deal. Then when I told her the amount of money I won, she said, Yeah, okay.

She didnt believe me, even that night, adds Solero, who lives in Shirley, L.I. I worked that night. She kept calling me to ask me if I was joking. But it sunk in late in the night. Shes like, Oh my God!

The father of three has been a firefighter for nine years.

Ive always wanted to be one, he says. Since I was a little kid, Ive had a fascination with the trucks.

Among the emergencies Solero has responded to was the 2006 plane crash that killed Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle. He was also called to last summers Park Ave. high-rise fire that killed an elderly man and injured his wife.

Solero and three of his co-workers were invited to Millionaires taping in October. Everyone in the audience had been interviewed beforehand, and none of the guests was supposed to know whod be called to play.

Firefighters, teachers and military members wore different color-coordinated shirts and waved American flags.

American Pride Week, which runs through May 7, also features Peter Flihan, a volunteer firefighter with the Briarcliff Manor (near Ossining, N.Y.) Fire Department. He walked away with $ 63,600 on Mondays show.

Before Solero takes the stage on Tuesdays show, two other locals play. They are West Orange, N.J., resident Sam Williams, a retired Army master sergeant; and Ana Machuca of Astoria, a speech and language therapist at the Learning Spring School in lower Manhattan.

It wasnt like your normal show that you have every day, Solero says. Having the military there in their uniforms was pretty cool.