Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 2000
These winners were recognized in the April, 2001 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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| Tim Corrado
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Kansas City, MO FD | Timothy D'Imperio | Rochester, NY FD | John Escobar | Englewood, NJ FD |
| Michael DeResta | North Providence, RI FD | Ken Monz | Rocky Point, NY FD | James P. Kenelly | FDNY |
| John Wheeler | North Providence, RI FD | Larry Blieka | Rocky Point, NY FD | Joseph G. McNulty | Boston, MA FD |
| John McKenna | North Providence, RI FD | Hank Strong | Rocky Point, NY FD | Herbert Ingram | Jersey City, NJ FD |
| James Davis | Detroit, MI FD | Billy Lattman | Rocky Point, NY FD | Phillip Pawlowski | Jersey City, NJ FD |
| Broderick Cuyler | Detroit, MI FD | Robert Heller | Englewood, NJ FD | Thomas Hart | S. Old Bridge, NJ Vol. Fire Co. |
| Kevin Claiborne | Detroit, MI FD | John McLoughlin | Englewood, NJ FD | Robert McDonough | S. Old Bridge, NJ Vol. Fire Co |
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On the evening of March 18, 2000, 6 workers were trapped on a suspended
platform 300 feet from the ground in the flue of a 600 foot stack at a
power plant. One of the workers was injured. Firefighters rigged a gondola
powered by an electric hoist to a cable that had been raised to the
trapped workers. Shortly before a similar cable had snapped and dropped a
dumpster to the ground. Rescue 3’s captain decided to send only one crew
member to stabilize the injured man. Firefighter Tim Corrado volunteered
to ride the gondola to the trapped men. He used his training as a high
angle rescue crew member to get to the suspended crew. He applied a
C-collar and KED board to the patient, loaded him on the gondola, and
supervised his removal to the ground. He remained on the platform for the
next two hours until the last worker was lowered to the ground.
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Tim Corrado Kansas City, MO FD $100 Award |
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Michael DeResta $100 Award |
John Wheeler Honorable Mention |
John McKenna Honorable Mention |
North Providence, RI FD |
| On
December 9, 1999, at approximately 1900 hours, the North Providence Fire
Department received a telephone call reporting a house fire at 34 Brae
Street. Fire alarm immediately dispatched Engines l, 2, 3, Ladder Co. 1,
and Battalion 1. Upon receiving additional calls while companies were en
route, the alarm was filled in with Engine Co. 4 and Rescue 1 (EMS).
Firefighter Michael DeResta ( acting Lieutenant this night) arrived with
Engine Co. 1 and reported a 2 story wood frame working fire. DeResta was
alerted by neighbors that the elderly occupants of the residence were
still trapped within the house. Ordering a 1 ¾ inch attack line
stretched, DeResta and Firefighter John Wheeler entered through a
breezeway door on a side of the building.. As they advanced, DeResta came
upon the first victim, an elderly woman barely conscious on the kitchen
floor.
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DeResta
and Wheeler removed her back out the breezeway door. Wheeler then
re-entered the building with a member of Ladder Co. 1.
After getting the victim sent to a hospital, DeResta re-entered to continue his search protected by Wheeler's 1 ¾ inch handline. DeResta turned into a bathroom where he found the second victim, an elderly man who was incoherent and unable to move. DeResta immediately radioed for assistance. Lt. John McKenna, who had been searching the adjacent bedroom, immediately answered the call. Lt. McKenna and DeResta removed the man from the building.
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James Davis $100 Award |
Broderick Cuyler $100 Award |
Kevin Claiborne $100 Award |
Detroit, MI FD |
| On August 24, 1999, TMS-5 together with several other companies responded to a fire in an apartment complex. As they arrived victims were hanging from the fourth floor front windows. Firefighters Claiborne, Davis and Cuyler climbed to that floor to rescue the victims. The fourth floor hallway was totally involved in flame and smoke. |
They did not have a charged hose, but they determined nonetheless to charge through the smoke and flames to the apartment. Claiborne kicked the door in. They found five adults, four children, and one infant inside the apartment. The three firefighters organized the group and led them back down the hallway and stairs to the street and safety.
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| Ken
Monz
$100 Award |
Larry
Blieka
Honorable Mention |
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Ray Strong Honorable Mention |
Billy Lattman Honorable Mention |
| Rocky Point, NY FD |
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At midnight on January 6, 2000, The Rocky Point Fire Department was dispatched to a fire in a two story wood frame house in the hamlet of Shoreham. At the scene firefighters found a working fire with reports of people trapped on the second floor. The fire was venting from the front door and from first floor windows. Lt. Ken Monz and other firefighters raised a ladder to a second story window. The crew entered and began a primary search. Heat in the bedroom was intense and visibility was zero. Finding no one, Monz crawled into the hallway, where the heat was even worse. He came to the next bedroom and tried to open the door, but a body on the other side allowed him to move it only a few inches.
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Lt. Blieka arrived with a Halligan tool and removed the door from its hinges. Blieka, Assistant Chief Ray Strong, and Monz removed the 250 pound man from the bedroom. Chief Lattman had completed his search of another second floor bedroom when he heard by radio of the rescue. Crawling to the scene, he moved to the stairway to direct a hose team on the first floor to knock down the fire on the stairway. He then moved to Blieka, Strong and Monz and helped them to carry the victim down the stairs to the outside. Without hose lines and operating above a serious fire, these firefighters saved a man’s life at great risk to their own. |
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At 0320 AM on
November 27, 2000, Firefighter D'Imperio was awakened by a bright glow
coming through his bedroom window. Looking out he saw his next door
neighbor's house fully involved in fire. While his wife called 9-1-1,
D'Imperio raced outside to discover his two neighbors trapped on their
garage roof in heavy smoke, directly above the fire. Forced by fire and
smoke from their second story window, they had become disoriented in the
heavy smoke. Hearing their cries for help, D'Imperio grabbed a ladder from
his garage, placed it against the garage roof, and made two trips through
the dense smoke to bring his neighbors down to safety. The damage from the
fire was so extensive that the home was demolished several days later.
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Timothy D'Imperio Rochester, NY FD $100 Award |
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Robert Heller $100 Award |
John McLoughlin Honorable Mention |
John Escobar Honorable Mention |
Englewood, NJ FD |
| On
the morning of May 15, 2000 a 911 call was received for a structure fire
with occupants trapped. Upon arrival, companies found a 2 ½ story, wood
frame, multiple dwelling with heavy fire on the first floor and heavy
smoke throughout. The dwelling was a five family complex with two
apartments accessible from the front door, two accessible from the rear
and one from the basement. Fire was consuming most of the first floor
apartment. An occupant was on the front porch screaming that two women
were trapped on the second floor above the fire. The only access to them
was through the front door, which was venting heavy heat and smoke.
Within seconds, a women appeared at the second floor window on the left side. Captain Mc Loughlin immediately ordered a 28' foot ground ladder to this window. Firefighter Heller raised the ladder to the windowsill, and began to climb the ladder with Mc Loughlin behind him. Heller pulled the first women out of the window, head first, and he and Mc Loughlin descended the ladder with her. |
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second ladder was ordered to be raised next to the first ladder to widen
the working area for rescue. Heller and Mc Loughlin climbed the ladder
again, while Probationary Firefighter Escobar raised a 24' extension
ladder alongside the first ladder.Again Heller took the second victim head
first out of the window. He and Mc Loughlin, and Escobar (from the second
ladder) made this second rescue. Once down the ladder, both victims were
given to medical personnel.
It was a natural reaction for them to "hold on" to anything they could grab, while looking straight down the ladder and having smoke and heat hit them in the face. Heller actually descended the ladder not holding onto anything but the victims, while Mc Loughlin braced and balanced the weight of both Heller and the victim. Both women sustained smoke inhalation and minor cuts and were transported to Englewood Hospital.
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Engine 39 responded
to a fire in a 6 story apartment building. The crew saw heavy smoke from
two sixth floor windows. Firefighter Kenelly and other members of Engine
39 stretched eight lengths of hose up the narrow stairway to a narrow
landing on the sixth floor. The apartment door was locked. Kennelly
climbed onto a stair railing and kicked in the upper part of the door,
since the crew had no forcible entry tools. The two apartment occupants
were lying unconscious against the door, making it impossible to open. By
this time their apartment was fully involved in fire. Kennelly managed to
wedge himself inside the fiery apartment and moved the victims enough to
get the door open. He did this without the protection of a hose line. Once
the door was open the E- 39 crew partially knocked the fire down with a
charged line. The line was also played on Firefighter Kenelly and the
victims. The entire crew dragged the two victims to a lower floor, and
they were soon removed by other crews to safety. Unfortunately both
victims died from their injuries.
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James P. Kenelly FDNY $100 Award |
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On February 12, 2000, at 2034
hours, Box 1772 was struck for a building fire. Upon arrival smoke was
showing and fire fighters were informed by occupants that everyone was out
of the building. Engine 21 ran a line to the first floor and found heavy
fire and smoke. Engine 17 was ordered to run a backup line for Engine 21 and
Ladder 7 was to start ventilation on the first floor. Ventilation was very
difficult because of the presence of security screens. The entire building
was now fully charged with heavy smoke. Lieutenant Joseph G. McNulty, Engine
Company 17, after placing his line in a backup position, ascended the stairs
to the second floor to search for fire extension. While conducting this
search he found a child on the floor of the living room. He removed his face
piece and placed it on the child and in extreme heat and heavy smoke he made
his way out of the apartment, descended the stairs and removed the four year
old girl to the street. He then returned to the fire building and resumed
his firefighting duties.
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Joseph G. McNulty Boston, MA FD $100 |
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Herbert Ingram $500 Award |
Phillip Pawlowski $500 Award |
| Jersey City, NJ FD |
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Engine 10 responded to a fire in a three story frame boarding house with heavy fire on the top floor. They were told that people were trapped on the third floor. Captain Pawlowski sent two members of his crew with a charged hose line to attack the fire in the stairwell and search the third floor for victims. Pawlowski and Firefighter Ingram went beyond the range of the hose line to search for other victims.
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As they crawled down the floor towards an apartment that was totally involved in fire, Ingram found an unconscious man just inside the doorway. He and Pawlowski dragged the victim back to the stairway. Other members helped the pair to carry the victim to the street. Although severely burned, the victim recovered. |
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Thomas Hart $100 Award |
Robert McDonough Honorable Mention |
| South Old Bridge, NJ Volunteer Fire Company |
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On
November 2, 2000 at 0720 hrs, the South Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Company
responded to a fire alarm at the Old Bridge Senior Rotary Housing Building.
Upon arrival the security guard informed Deputy Chief Thomas Hart that there
was a person trapped in a fire in apartment # 405.
Deputy Chief Hart and Firefighter Robert McDonough donned their turnout gear and SCBA and proceeded up the stairwell to the 4th floor. Without benefit of a hose line, they entered the corridor leading to the apartment and encountered heavy smoke.
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Upon entering the apartment they met heavy smoke from floor to ceiling and high heat coming from the bedroom. Hart searched the apartment, ordering McDonough to keep the apartment door open to assist in ventilation. Hart found an elderly man and he and McDonough removed him to safety. They then re-entered the apartment to conduct a secondary search and found no other occupants. Despite their efforts the man died two days after the fire from his injuries. |
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