Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 2000
These winners were recognized in the April, 2001 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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| Peter J. Konopka | FDNY | William Meyer | Boston, MA FD | Joseph Camerato | Toledo, OH FD |
| Anthony Smerdel | San Francisco FD | Kevin B. Garry | Boston, MA FD | James Drake | Toledo, OH FD |
| Britton Smith | San Francisco FD | Levi Harris | Boston, MA FD | Brian Cowgill | Marion, IN FD |
| Douglas J. Smith | Columbus, OH FD | Richard T. Noonan | Boston, MA FD | Tracy Kilgore | Marion, IN FD |
| Edward Tierney | FDNY | Paul J. Zepf | Boston, Ma FD | Nicholas Cicero, Jr. | FDNY |
| Mark A. Pascuzzi | Rochester, NY FD | William Austin | Boston, MA FD | William R. Croak | FDNY |
| Keith C. Johnson | FDNY | Andre Bridges | Boston, MA FD | Paul G. Carey | Boston, MA FD |
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Tower Ladder 117
responded at 1:46 AM on January 14, 2000. Searching for victims inside a
basement apartment, members met an iron security door and a wooden
interior door, both locked. The basement had one small rear window
allowing limited ventilation and no secondary escape route. Firefighter
Peter Konopka, the forcible entry fire fighter, used his tools and
experience to force open the security door. The interior door needed his
brute strength and shoulder. Once opened the hallway proved to be an
extension of the original fire area with heavy flames, high heat and thick
black smoke pushing down to the entrance. Konopka donned his SCBA face
piece and entered the hallway crawling on his stomach beneath the flames.
He had no hose line. Within 10 to 15 feet he came upon the victim, burned,
unconscious and unable to assist in her own removal. With flames now down
to floor level, he dragged her back to the front entry way. There
Firefighter Ingram helped Konopka to get her to the street. After taking
her pulse and insuring her breathing, he secured a resuscitator and proper
medical care. Returning to the fire area with a hose line now in position,
he continued to search with the forcible entry team for additional
victims.
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Peter J. Konopka FDNY Honorable Mention |
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William Meyer Honorable Mention |
Kevin B. Garry Honorable Mention |
Levi Harris Honorable Mention |
Boston, MA FD |
| On January 8, 2000, Box 3553
was struck for a building fire at 22 West Selden Street, District 8. Heavy
fire was showing from the first and second floors upon arrival of
apparatus. Ladder Company 29 was informed that someone was still inside
the building. Captain William J. Meyer, Firefighter Kevin B. Garry and
Firefighter Levi Harris entered the rear of the building, which was
heavily charged with heat and smoke. They found an unconscious elderly man
on the kitchen floor.
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As they left, the victim stopped breathing and CPR was started. The victim was transported to the Boston Medical Center and later transferred to the hyperbaric chamber at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Their actions, taken at great personal risk, undoubtedly saved this man's life. |
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On their arrival at
he scene of a working fire in a three story, wood-framed set of flats,
Rescue Squad 2 was ordered to the second floor to search for a missing
tenant. Engine companies were just arriving on the scene, and no hose
lines had yet been laid. Lt. Anthony Smerdel crawled 25 feet down a
hallway through intense smoke and heat. He found the room of the man in
question with flames licking from the top of the closed door. Upon
attempting to open the door, Smerdel realized that the victim was
unconscious and lying against the door. An accomplished weightlifter,
Smerdel forced the door open enough to retrieve the victim and drag him
back down the hallway. There he met other members of Rescue Squad 2 and
together they took the victim outside to the ambulance.
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Anthony Smerdel San Francisco FD $100 Award |
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On March 19, 2000
Rescue 1 responded to a working fire at a three story wood building with
fire venting from the first floor front windows. A report came of people
possibly trapped on the fire floor. Rescue 1’s crew teamed up as one
search unit and Firefighters Britton Smith and Frank Puccetti of Engine 1
worked as a second search unit. Smith and Puccetti crawled to the rear of
the flat through intense heat and fire, with zero visibility. Smith found
an unconscious man in a rear bedroom. He moved the man to the main
hallway. He and Puccetti removed the man form the building. After
administering first aid, the victim's vital signs returned.
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Britton Smith San Francisco FD $100 Award |
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On December
29, 1999 at about 5:30 PM, off duty Captain Douglas J. Smith heard his
neighbor shouting that his wife was trapped in a fire in their split level
home. Smith grabbed a small fire extinguisher and rushed into the home and
up a flight of stairs to the second floor, where the wheel chair bound
partially paralyzed woman was trapped. Smoke forced him to retreat.
Obtaining an ax, Smith climbed to a small outside balcony and smashed
through a window, gaining entrance to a family room. He found the woman’s
body near the stairs. It was apparent to Smith that she was dead. It was
wedged in the wheelchair, and Smith was unable to free her before the heavy
smoke forced him to retire.
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Douglas J. Smith Columbus, OH Division of Fire $100 Award |
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Ladder 30 reported
first due to a seven story apartment building with fire reported on the
seventh floor. The forcible entry team moved to the top floor and
encountered several people trying to open a locked apartment door, yelling
that a woman was trapped inside. Lt. Edward Tierney’s crew forced the
steel door open and entered a fire filled apartment. While Ladder 30’s
can man used his small supply of water to knock down the fire, Tierney
searched for the victim. Several feet down a hall and past a fully
involved kitchen, Tierney found a makeshift bedroom with a french door. A
large bed was forced against the door. Tierney broke enough of the door’s
window panes to get in the room, which was partially aflame and completely
filled with smoke. Crawling around the room, Tierney found the woman lying
on the floor, and managed to roll her onto the bed and across to the
french door. At this point the can man, Firefighter Gustavson, helped to
remove the heavy woman from the apartment, back past the kitchen entrance,
from which flames reached over the firemen and the victim. At this point
they were met by firefighters from Engine 69, who helped to remove the
woman to safety.
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Edward Tierney FDNY Honorable Mention |
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Richard T. Noonan Honorable Mention |
Paul J. Zepf Honorable Mention |
| Boston, MA FD |
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At 10 PM on August 29, 2000 District 9 was responding to a boiler explosion at the Shattuck Hospital power plant when several citizens flagged the firefighters down. They reported to Captain Richard T. Noonan that an armed robbery had taken place and that the suspects were inside a convenience store, trapped by several citizens who were holding the doors shut, effectively blocking the exits. Noonan entered the store and was confronted by one suspect swinging a knife at him.
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He convinced him to put the knife on the floor. At this time Firefighter Paul J. Zepf, Aide to the District 9 chief, entered the store and the two suspects attempted to run from the premises. Noonan and Zepf struggled with them and at the same time called Fire Alarm to check on the police response. Police arrived on scene and arrested the two suspects. Noonan and Zepf then continued on to the Shattuck Hospital. |
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On March 20, 2000, at 2114 hours.
Box 7263, which became a two alarm fire, was struck for a building fire.
First due Engine Company 21 found heavy fire showing from the first floor of
a three story wood framed building. Heavy smoke was showing from the second
and third floors. Lieutenant William G. Austin was informed of two people
trapped on the third floor. He ordered a hose line run to the first floor
while he entered the building, made his way to the third floor through heavy
smoke and extreme heat and searched for the two victims. He located them and
led them to a third floor window and waited for the first arriving ladder
company. He led the couple to safety over Ladder Company 7's aerial ladder.
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William Austin Boston, MA FD Honorable Mention |
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On May 12,
2000, at approximately 1450 hours, a six year old girl was struck by an
automobile on Columbia Road near the quarters of Engine Company 21. The
child bounced onto the hood, onto the windshield and landed on the roof of
the station wagon. The driver continued up Columbia Road and turned onto
Dudley Street at a high rate of speed with the child hanging on to the roof
rack. The situation was witnessed by off duty Firefighter Andre C. Bridges,
Ladder Company 9, who pursued the fleeing car, forced it to stop on Dudley
Street and assisted the police in apprehending the driver. The child
miraculously survived with a broken leg and some scratches and bruises.
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Andre Bridges Boston, MA FD Honorable Mention |
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Firefighter
Mark Pascuzzi was off duty on the evening of June 26, 2000, having dinner in
a restaurant. A woman sitting at a nearby table suddenly began gasping for
air. As she sank to the floor, Pascuzzi, recognizing that she had a blocked
airway, performed the Heimlich maneuver to free her airway from a piece of
food. The woman made a full recovery from her predicament. Firefighter
Pascuzzi’s quick action probably saved her life.
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Mark A. Pascuzzi Rochester, NY FD Honorable Mention |
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Firefighter
Johnson was the driver of Ladder 6 at a working fire in a Brooklyn apartment
building at 4 AM on February 8, 2000. He raised his aerial ladder to the
third floor, where a person was reported trapped. Johnson climbed the ladder
to the window and broke it, meeting intense heat and smoke. He reached in
and felt a man’s body. He crawled into the apartment, lifted the
unconscious man, and transferred him to his ladder. Alone and injured
because of his rescue efforts, Johnson managed to place the man on his
shoulders and carry him to the ground. Unfortunately the man died later of
his injuries.
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Keith C. Johnson FDNY Honorable Mention |
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Joseph Camerato Honorable Mention |
James Drake Honorable Mention |
| Toledo, OH FD |
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From Chief Michael Bell, Toledo Fire & Rescue: I am
submitting two individuals for their act of heroism while off duty. Retired
Firefighter Jim Drake and Firefighter Joe Camerato were off duty and headed
home on Friday, June 23, 2000. They came upon an accident which had just
happened. They pulled off the side of the road and Firefighter Camerato
called 9-1-1 from his personal cell phone and ordered Life Squads and other
responders.
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Both firefighters were working with gloves only in a very bloody situation. One of the victims was killed on impact from the head on collision and the other victim was thrown through the window. I feel they went above and beyond the call of duty to help the victims until Medic #2 from Oregon Ohio arrived. |
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Brian Cowgill Honorable Mention |
Tracy Kilgore Honorable Mention |
| Marion, IN FD |
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At 3 AM on the morning of May 20, 2000, Dispatchers sent
Engine 1 to a reported house fire. At the scene smoke was pushing from a
front window and from the eaves of the single story house. Two firefighters
advanced a hose into the house to attack the fire. Ignoring reports that
everyone was out of the house, a search team moved past the attack team. Firefighter
Brian Cowgill crawled past the burning kitchen and master bedroom down a
smoke filled hall to a rear bedroom, where he found an
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unconscious 15 year old boy. Dragging the boy out, he called for help and his partner, Firefighter Tracy Kilgore, reached the room and helped Cowgill drag the boy through the smoke and heat filled house to the street. The boy survived his injuries. |
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Ladder
111 reported at 6:51 AM on September 3, 2000 to a fire in a multi story
apartment building with fire and smoke showing from the first three floors.
While the L-111 crew went into action, Firefighter Cicero, the driver, cut a
roll down door on the front of the building and searched the store inside,
looking for fire or victims. He reached the rear of the building and noticed
that the drop ladder of the fire escape was still in the “up” position.
Guessing that people could be trapped, he climbed the escape to the top floor, where he found the windows to be blocked with illegal iron bars. He used his halligan tool to break through the bars and entered the hot and smoky room within. He found a badly burned unconscious woman and called for help. A member of Squad 252 responded and helped Cicero to remove the woman. Unfortunately she died from her burns on the following day |
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Nicholas Cicero, Jr. FDNY Honorable Mention |
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At 4 AM on
the morning of March 27, 2000, Ladder 170 arrived first due at a fire in the
basement of a 1 ½ story house in Brooklyn. Lieutenant William Croak and his
forcible entry team immediately broke into the entrance to the basement
apartment. This was the only way in or out of the apartment. Croak’s three
man team was immediately struck with fire and smoke in the entry / living
room area. No engine company was yet on scene. Croak crawled past the fire
to the rear bedroom. He found an unconscious woman on the floor. As he
dragged the woman out of the apartment a hose team from Engine 257 entered
the apartment and knocked the fire down enough for Croak and the victim to
get past it. Croak and Firefighter Walters removed the woman to the street.
They performed CPR on the woman until arriving EMS units could transport her
to a hospital and hyperbaric unit. She survived her injuries.
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William R. Croak FDNY Honorable Mention |
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On June 17,
2000, at approximately 2100 hours, Captain Paul G. Carey, Engine Company 28,
while off duty, responded to Box 2794 for a building fire. He arrived on
scene before apparatus and found a two story garage heavily involved in
fire. After making sure the adjacent dwellings were evacuated, he began
exposure protection using garden hoses with the assistance of local
residents. He remained on the scene to guide the first arriving companies.
Because of his quick response, the timely extinguishment of this fully
involved structure was accomplished as well as the prevention of the fire’s
spread to nearby exposures.
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Paul G. Carey Boston, MA FD Honorable Mention |
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