Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 2003
These winners were recognized in the April, 2004 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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| Anthony Doran | Fairfax County VA FD | William Hall | Prince George's County MD FD | Roderick Robinson | New Orleans FD |
| Victor Ferreira | Prince George's County MD FD | Kevin Deck | Prince George's County MD FD | Scott Hathaway | Toledo OH FD |
| Kenneth Stack | Prince George's County MD FD | Blair Easton | New Orleans FD | Terry Hardy | New Orleans FD |
| Micarleo D. Cole | Prince George's County MD FD | Lawrence Francisco | Columbus OH FD | Gary Pemberton | Fairfax County VA FD |
| Brent J. Lockwood | Prince George's County MD FD | Bryan Sullivan | Columbus OH FD | Wayne Taylor | Jersey City FD |
| Rodenard Davis | Prince George's County MD FD | Walter Frisch | New Orleans FD | Richard Riley | Fairfax County VA FD |
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Master
Technician Anthony Doran was traveling east of Winchester when he came
upon an automobile crash. He
pulled over his vehicle, grabbed his flashlight, and waved it towards
oncoming traffic to slow them down. He
surveyed the scene and determined that the only access into the automobile
was through the passenger side front door, and through a small opening
through the rear window. The car was on its roof. He crawled inside the car and discovered an inverted semi-conscious woman with her waist resting on what would normally be the bottom part of the steering wheel. He also heard a young child crying in the back of the vehicle. He quickly assessed the driver’s level of consciousness and breathing and assisted her in stretching out her knees in a straight line, noticing that her breathing sounded much better. Doran
then pushed his head between the two front seats to check the child's
condition. The boy had his
seat belt twisted two times around his body, back, chest and armpits,
making him unable to move. With
his pocket knife Doran cut the seat belt from the child, freeing him and
preventing further injuries. At
this point fire and EMS vehicles arrived on the scene.
Doran continued to help the driver by applying cervical spine
immobilization, while maintaining an open airway, and assisted with her
extrication from the car. |
Anthony Doran Fairfax County VA FD Station 14 $100 Award |
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Victor N. Ferreira $100 Award |
Kenneth F. Stack $100 Award |
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Micarleo D. Cole $100 Award |
Brent J. Lockwood $100 Award |
| Prince George's County FD, Largo, MD |
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Engine
441 responded to a house fire with a report of people trapped.
The crew arrived on the scene to find a two-story single family
dwelling with heavy fire showing from the first and second floors.
They encountered an occupant of the house yelling, "There are
three people trapped upstairs!" The
crew advanced an attack line, entered the dwelling and knocked down the fire
on the first floor. They
climbed to the second floor and attempted to move ahead of the hose line to
begin searching for the victims, but the extreme heat made it impossible for
them to reach the top of the stairs.
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When the second floor fire was knocked down sufficiently, a search of that floor was conducted. The quick actions of the crew of Engine 441 allowed the removal of the victims who were trapped on the second floor of the house. Tragically, all three victims succumbed to their injuries; however, the actions under extremely dangerous conditions were in the highest tradition of the fire service. |
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Rodenard Davis $100 Award |
William Hall $100 Award |
Kevin Deck $100 Award |
Prince George’s County MD FD Station 32 |
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After extinguishing that fire they went to the upper level of the home, where they learned of the possibility of trapped victims. They moved to the third level, where they began an aggressive search of the bedrooms. An unconscious adult male was located
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Upon
arrival at the scene of a one alarm fire, Firefighter Easton and his
captain found a second floor apartment of a two-story structure ablaze.
Witnesses on the scene informed them that there were people trapped
inside of the apartment.
They entered the structure through a front door and began their
primary search.
The kitchen of the unit, which was in the center of the apartment,
was heavily involved, with fire venting out of a window and into the
interior hallway.
Unable to see in through the volumes of smoke, the crew followed
the walls of the structure until they reached the rear bedroom.
Easton informed his captain that he had found a victim and that he
could handle the rescue on his own, allowing his captain to continue the
search for other potential victims.
A blocked rear exit required them to back though the residence to
the front door.
Easton pulled the elderly gentleman from the apartment, ducking
under the flames spewing from the raging kitchen and carrying him outside
to safety. |
Blair Easton New Orleans FD Engine 11 $150 Award |
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Lawrence Francisco Ladder 2 $100 Award |
Bryan J. Sullivan Engine 3 $100 Award |
Columbus, OH FD |
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Columbus
Fire Department units were dispatched to a report of a person trapped under
an elevator. They found a victim trapped in an elevator well after an empty
elevator car dropped three stories and struck the victim. Firefighter
Bryan Sullivan squeezed through a 10 inch opening between the elevator's
floor and wall to get down to the trapped victim.
Without protective gear, Sullivan worked in a two-foot high area to
try to get the elevator in an operating condition. After stabilizing the
elevator, Sullivan turned his attention to the victim.
He had a dislocated shoulder, severe lacerations, multiple fractures
of the left arm, and multiple fractures of the right leg.
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The entire extraction took approximately forty minutes. Sullivan stayed in the elevator well with the victim the entire time. After approximately thirty minutes the elevator was raised about ten feet. Captain Francisco tried to stabilize the elevator car, but was unable to do so. Consequently Francisco refused to let anyone else go down into the elevator well to assist Firefighter Sullivan. Instead he personally entered the well and assisted in placing the seriously injured victim into a Stokes Basket and getting him out. |
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Walter Frisch $100 Award |
Roderick Robinson $100 Award |
New Orleans FD Engine 17 |
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Robinson immediately went to work on the bars and removed them single-handedly. Frisch and Robinson then entered the building through the window and rescued the victim, who was unconscious but still breathing. They lifted the elderly man and passed him through the window to safety. Fire personnel and Paramedics outside revived the victim, and he was in good condition when transported to the hospital |
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Firefighter
Scott Hathaway responded to a report of a fire in a nine story structure.
The fire was in a 6th floor apartment. Its distraught
resident blocked entry to the apartment, and forcible entry tactics were
used to get inside.
Inside the smoke filled apartment the victim ran to a window and
attempted to jump out.
Hathaway grabbed the man as he was attempting to jump and pulled
him back into the apartment.
The victim was then removed to safety. |
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Scott Hathaway Toledo OH FD $100 Award |
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Engine
10 was dispatched a single story home that was engulfed in flame.
Captain Terry Hardy was beginning his attack on the fire through a
side door when bystanders shouted that someone was trapped in the house.
They assisted Hardy to gain entrance through a window by removing
an air-conditioning unit.
Once inside, Hardy crawled below the smoke and flame and searched
the house, using the walls to guide him.
He found a man lying underneath a mattress, gasping for air and
struggling to breathe.
As Hardy reassured the man and prepared him to be moved, the victim
was overcome by smoke and stopped breathing.
Hardy cradled the victim's body in his arms and carried him to the
window, where firefighters outside were waiting to carry him to safety.
As Hardy lifted the victim through the window, his breathing
apparatus became entangled in the window furnishings and his face piece
dislodged, exposing
him to the heat and smoke.
After assuring the safety of the victim, Hardy struggled to free
himself.
An alert firefighter outside observed the his plight and pulled him
to safety.
Hardy was transported to the hospital, but returned to duty for his
next tour.
The victim, who had been confined to a wheel chair and was unable
escape the home under his own power, was resuscitated by firefighters on
the scene and was in good condition after treatment to remove the carbon
monoxide from his body |
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Terry Hardy New Orleans LA FD Ladder 13 $100 Award |
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On a Sunday morning in August of 2003 Captain Gary Pemberton and his family were traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway. As they drove around a sharp curve, they encountered a citizen frantically waving for someone to stop and help an accident victim. A motorcycle rider had slid on the wet pavement as she rounded the curve. Pemberton stopped to assist. A lack of cell telephone service in the mountains prevented a 911 call. After sending someone for help, Pemberton provided care for the victim. Lacking personal protective equipment, Pemberton retrieved a towel from his automobile and began using it to help clear her airway. In the process, he was exposed to the patient's body fluids. He enlisted the help of bystanders to assist with C-spine immobilization. About thirty minutes later a first responder arrived on the scene. Pemberton identified himself and requested an oral airway and oxygen. An ambulance soon arrived and Pemberton helped the crew to secure the patient to a backboard and continued airway maintenance. He was now able to use a suction catheter to further clear the patient’s airway. She
was
loaded into the ambulance and transported to the landing zone.
A helicopter arrived and the patient was flown to the University of
Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. |
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Gary Pemberton Fairfax County VA FD Station 25 $100 Award |
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On
October 3, 2003, Ladder 8 responded to a fire in a three story wood frame
structure that ultimately went to three alarms.
Upon arrival, fire was showing from the second and third floor
front windows and heavy dark smoke was issuing from other windows and
openings.
Firefighter Wayne Taylor had placed the aerial ladder on the roof
when he was informed by a bystander that a woman was trapped at a third
floor rear window. While members of the crew of Ladder 8 secured a 35 ft
ground ladder,
Taylor climbed the fire escape and unsuccessfully tried to reach
the woman.
When he realized that he could not reach her, he went back to the
ground and cleared debris away from the area under the window and extended
his arms towards the woman, who was now positioning herself to jump.
When the smoke and heat became unbearable, she jumped onto
Firefighter Taylor.
His outstretched arms broke her fall, which resulted in the woman
receiving only a broken leg and several bruises.
Taylor received a shoulder injury that required surgery and an
extensive period of rehabilitation. |
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Wayne Taylor Jersey City NJ FD Ladder 8 $100 Award |
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Units were dispatched to an apartment fire. They found a twelve-story high-rise building with heavy fire venting from the sixth floor apartment windows and balcony. The Truck 410 crew heard people screaming from the balconies that someone was trapped on the fifth floor balcony. Master Technician Sparrow told Firefighter Richard Riley to position the aerial ladder to the fifth floor balcony while the rest of the crew went to the sixth floor apartment fire. Riley raised the ladder to the balcony below the fire where the victim had been seen. As he positioned the ladder, the growing fire dropped burning debris to the floors below, making for a more difficult rescue. Riley placed Truck 410's aerial tip on top of the balcony where the victim was located. He climbed the ladder to the sixth floor to reassure the victim that everything was going to be fine. As he neared the balcony, he noted that the victim had been burned severely and was bleeding profusely from wounds on his body. Due to the seriousness of the situation (a victim with severe burns, in extreme pain, and loosing consciousness), Riley decided to remove the victim via the ladder by himself. He lifted the victim onto the ladder from the balcony three foot balcony parapet. Climbing back on to the aerial ladder, Riley got in front of the victim, placing his arms underneath each armpit and his knee under the victim's groin to support his descent down the ladder. As
soon the victim was on the aerial ladder, some of his skin and hair caught
fire and Riley had to extinguish it by padding it with his gloved hands,
unintentionally causing more extreme pain.
As Riley carried the victim down the ladder, he lost consciousness
twice, and slumped over Riley's arms.
Riley and the victim reached the base of the ladder, and were
assisted by Rescue 418 personnel in the removal of the victim to the medic
unit.
Firefighter Riley now went to the truck, retrieved some of his work
tools and went up to the fire floor to join his crew. |
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Richard Riley Fairfax County VA FD Station 10 $100 Award |
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