EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Quake Survivors Thank God and Their Rescuer : Aftermath: Two men trapped by collapsed building finally meet the man who saved their lives.

By MIGUEL BUSTILLO

Jan. 31, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Like many good friends, Jerry Prezioso and Steve Langdon told jokes in front of the TV Sunday, trying to relieve the boredom of yet another lopsided Super Bowl.

But instead of discussing the breakdown in the Bills’ defense, the former roommates--meeting for the first time since the Northridge Meadows apartment building’s top two floors collapsed above them--thanked God that they were alive and credited Los Angeles reserve Police Officer Don Stein with saving their lives.

Stein, who joined Langdon and Prezioso in an emotional but humor-packed meeting at the Northridge Hospital Medical Center Sunday night, dug through the rubble and found the two men after hearing their pleas for help. They were rescued by firefighters shortly afterward.

“Hey, I really gotta thank you,” Prezioso said to Stein, whom he was meeting in person for the first time. “We were in there five hours before anyone heard us.”

Prezioso, 67, a Budget Rent-A-Car employee still bedridden by leg injuries, talked with Langdon about the death of neighbors and friends, and the loss of personal possessions.

But through it all, the two men maintained a wry sense of humor--just like they had done when they were pinned face down by the second floor after their building collapsed.

“It’s a good way to break a lease, don’t you think?” said Prezioso. “Hey, you gotta have humor in tragedy. . . . I can’t help that. I’m a New Yorker.”

Although nails from a fallen wall punctured his abdomen and the fallen roof pinned his head and legs, Prezioso did not panic. He and Langdon, who works for a sports clothing manufacturer and whose head was also pinned by the roof, talked and told jokes for hours to keep their spirits high.

“At one point, Jerry said, ‘Next time we move, let’s get an apartment on the top floor,’ ” said Langdon, 45. “I was scared, but Jerry said not to worry, that if we were alive, there had to be a reason for it.”

As he was walking around the collapsed building looking for survivors, Stein, a 36-year-old car mechanic who works in Panorama City, heard screams coming from under the rubble.

“I was horrified of what I would find,” Stein said. Nevertheless he went on, sending a fellow rescue worker for help. Lifting large pieces of concrete, stucco and wood to get to the sound, Stein said he “felt like the Incredible Hulk. My adrenaline was pumping, and I wasn’t worried about what could happen to me if another shaker hit while I was in the rubble.”

Once he reached Prezioso, he was stunned by the man’s composure.

“A building was sitting on this guy, and he wasn’t scared or spooked or anything!” Stein said.

Using air bags to raise the fallen roof, firefighters rescued Prezioso and Langdon. At that point, Stein was helping other victims, and the survivors weren’t able to meet him. Langdon was taken to Tarzana Regional Medical Center with a broken collarbone, three fractured ribs and a punctured lung.

Prezioso was sent to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, nails still in his body. Langdon was released from the hospital Friday, although his lungs may have suffered permanent damage.

As he was removed from his collapsed apartment building, Prezioso remembers saying aloud: “Now I can watch the Super Bowl.”

But on Super Bowl Sunday, Prezioso and Langdon paid little attention to the game. They were more interested in telling Stein what he meant to them.

“They’ll be a lot of other Super Bowls,” Prezioso said. “This night is more important.”