Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 2000
These winners were recognized in the April, 2001 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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| James Curry | Detroit, MI FD | James M. Watterson | FDNY | ||
| Gerald Shannon | San Francisco, CA FD | John M. Walsh | Boston, MA FD | ||
| Petra Johnson | San Francisco, CA FD | James McGrath | Jersey City, NJ FD | ||
| Joseph Luna | Rochester, NY FD | Curtis Golson | Detroit, MI FD | ||
| Robert Martin | Detroit, MI FD | David M. Ostiguy | Boston, MA FD | ||
| Marcus Williams | Detroit, MI FD | Jonathan Thomas | Detroit, MI FD | ||
| Jim Wetenhall | Toledo, OH FD |
| Photo Not Available | On
August 18, 1999, Engine 21 responded to a house fire. Upon arrival,
Firefighter James Curry of Engine 21 was told by deeply concerned family
members that their bedridden grandfather was trapped on the second floor.
Assisted by Lieutenant Wesley Radford, Curry entered the building and
climbed to the second floor. In high heat and smoke Curry and Radford
searched room by room for the victim. After passing a room on fire,
without the protection of a hose line, they came upon the victim. They
picked him up and retraced their route through the hallway, down the
stairs to safety.
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Detroit, MI FD Honorable Mention |
 |
On May 20, 2000
Captain Gerald Shannon responded to Mountain Lake (a small urban lake)
with Engine 34 and Cliff Rescue Unit 1 to assist units at the scene with a
man in the lake. Battalion 7, Engine 14, Medic 5, Presidio Fire Engine and
Medic Unit, US National Park Service Rangers and SFPD were already on the
scene. The man in the lake was screaming obscenities and making threats to
everyone on shore. He had violently assaulted two individuals earlier and
Police chased him into the lake. He was a very large man and was in an
altered mental state. As he left the lake, he quickly and aggressively
advanced toward a female park ranger and balled his fist to punch her. As
the others backed up the bank, Captain Shannon stepped in front of the
ranger, ducked the man's punch, grabbed him by the neck and took him down.
He held him until he could be handcuffed. It took five men to control him
as he was put in the ambulance.
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Gerald Shannon San Francisco FD Honorable Mention |
 |
On 29 May 2000 at
21:29 hours a 9-1-1 call was received at the Alarm Room. The caller
reported that a 75 year old woman was choking and unable to breathe.
Firefighter Petra Johnson answered the call. The caller reported that the
patient was choking and could not breathe. She also stated that she was
unsuccessfully performing the "Heimlich" maneuver and adamantly
wanted the hang up the phone. Johnson convinced the caller to stay on the
line and provided accurate pre-arrival instructions which were
successfully followed, removing the obstruction, restoring the patient’s
airway and saving her life.
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Petra Johnson San Francisco FD Honorable Mention |
 |
At 8:23 AM
on a frigidly cold December 9, 2000 Firefighter Joseph Luna had just gone
off duty after finishing his night shift. While driving home he heard a
dispatch for a fire only two blocks from his location. He responded
immediately, and escorted a dazed and seriously burned elderly man and his
terrified grandson from the building. Closing the door to the fire room to
prevent the fire’s spread, Luna alerted the residents of the remaining 15
apartment units in the 2 ½ story, 10.000 square foot apartment building,
because its fire alarm had failed to activate. This done, he met the
arriving Battalion Chief and gave him a full report of fire location and
conditions. He then returned to the burned elderly man and his grandson and
placed them in his vehicle until an ambulance was on hand to take them to a
hospital.
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Joseph Luna, III Rochester, NY FD Honorable Mention |
| Photo Not Available | At 11:10 PM
on November 10, 1999, Squad 1 responded to a fire in a two-story dwelling
with the rear of the dwelling totally involved, fire showing from the first
and second floor. Despite the intense heat and smoke, Firefighter Robert
Martin searched, found and rescued an unconscious boy from the second floor
bedroom. Assisted by Senior Firefighter Charles Simms of Engine 53, Martin
began CPR. He continued CPR while the victim was transported to hospital on
Squad 1. His actions undoubtedly saved the child’s life.
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Robert Martin Detroit, MI FD Honorable Mention |
| Photo Not Available | On
November 20, 1999, at 2240 hours, Engine 23 had been executing fire fighting
duties at a residential fire when Firefighter Marcus Williams was approached
by two young girls. They told him that a distraught woman was threatening to
jump onto the Ford Freeway.
Upon arrival at the scene Williams found a woman in-her thirties, clinging to the outside of the protective fencing above the freeway. Williams gained her confidence while approaching her on the unprotected side of the fence, and eventually grabbed her and guided her about 15 feet back to safety. Awaiting police officers transported her to the police crisis center.
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Marcus Williams Detroit, MI FD Honorable Mention |
 |
On Saturday,
October 21, 2000 at 8;45 PM, Maumee Fire EMS was dispatched to a cardiac
arrest with CPR in progress at the Showcase Cinemas, 1360 Conant Street.
Upon Life Squad 7's arrival, Jim Wetenhall, an off duty Toledo firefighter,
was performing CPR on the victim. Upon calling for medical assistance from
people in the theater, he removed the victim from her seat and carried her
to the hallway where it was easier to work on her. He intubated the victim,
performed an external jugular i.v., and assisted running the code. As the
EMS team prepared to remove the woman to the hospital, she recovered a
viable pulse and a blood pressure. Firefighter Wetenhall’s quick actions
undoubtedly saved this woman’s life.
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Jim Wetenhall Toledo, OH FD Honorable Mention |
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Ladder 44
arrived at 6:15 PM on May 7, 2000 at a third floor fire in an apartment
building. There were reports of a woman trapped at a window of the fire
apartment. Ladder 44’s inside team was unable to enter the apartment
because of intense fire and heat. The Ladder 44 outside ventilation man,
Firefighter James M. Watterson, positioned the bucket of his rig’s aerial
tower to the third floor window and found a young woman who told him that a
ninety two year old woman was unconscious on a bed somewhere in the smoke
filed room. Watterson found this woman and carried her through near
flashover conditions back to the escape window. The young woman had already
been removed by other firefighters. Watterson was helped by firefighters
from Rescue 3 to remove the elderly woman to his bucket. Firefighters and
the victim were removed to the street and safety.
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James M. Watterson FDNY Honorable Mention |
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On June 9, 2000, at approximately 2030 hours, screams for help were heard from a woman outside a store parking lot located opposite Division 2 on Centre Street, District 9. Upon hearing the screams, Aide to District 12 Firefighter John M. Walsh, saw a man steal a woman's handbag and then run down Centre Street to flee the scene. Eventually cornered by a number of bystanders, the man wielded a razor, which he swung wildly toward any person near his reach. Pursuing the man after he evaded the bystanders, Walsh ran after him, tripped him and restrained him on the ground until members of Engine 28 and Ladder 10 arrived and assisted. The man was then arrested by Boston Police. |
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John M. Walsh Boston, MA FD Honorable Mention |
| Photo Not Available | At 9:25 AM
on July 18, 2000 Engine 19 reported to a three story wood house with the
first two floors fully involved in fire. Bystanders yelled that an elderly
woman was at a third floor window in the rear. Firefighter James McGrath ran
to the rear and saw her standing at a the window. A man was standing on the
fire escape of the next door building unsuccessffully trying to get her to
reach out to him. McGrath climbed the fire escape, and reached into the
smoke filled window. He grabbed the woman and pulled her onto the fire
escape. A ladder was now in place on the escape. McGrath and Captain Mc
Namara of Engine 2 carried her down the ladder to safety.
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James R. McGrath Jersey City, NJ FD Honorable Mention |
| Photo Not Available | On October
20, 1999, at 1029 hours, Engine 52 responded to a fire in a dwelling and
began stretching hose to attack the fire. As he was stretching hose,
Firefighter Curtis Golson heard cries for help coming from the second floor
of the house. Without water and on his own initiative, Golson struggled
through smoke, heat and flame to the second floor. He went room to room
until he found two children in the rear bedroom. He carried both children
back down the hallway and stairs to the street. Both children survived.
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Curtis Golson Detroit, MI FD Honorable Mention |
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On June 5, 2000, at 0722 hours, Box 3641 was struck for a building fire. Upon Engine 52’s arrival, heavy fire was showing from the attic windows of the 2 ½ story wood framed building. A frantic woman cried that her baby was trapped in the attic. The crew immediately ran a hose line up the front stairs to the attic and crawled down the hallway searching for the child. Firefighter David M. Ostiguy heard the child's cries and felt his way to her bedroom. Searching on his hands and knees he found the child on the bedroom floor and carried her down the stairs to the safety of the street, where she was removed to the hospital by Boston EMS. |
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David M. Ostiguy Boston, MA FD Honorable Mention |
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At 6:30 AM on January 2, 2000 Engine 42 responded to a fire in the basement of a two story wood residence. While advancing a 1½” line into the first floor, Firefighter Phillip Nevels fell through a hole in the floor and into the basement. Without hesitation Fire Fighter Jonathan Thomas of Engine Company 42 left the first floor, found a side door and basement stairs, and descended the stairs into the basement. He met extreme heat and dense smoke. Alone and without the aid of a hose line, Thomas searched the basement for Nevels. After an extensive search, he found and removed Nevels from the basement to the street. |
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Jonathan Thomas Detroit, MI FD $100 Award |
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