Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 1998
These winners were recognized in the April, 1999 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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| Darron Eberhardt | Freeport, NY | Christopher Gillespie | Boise, ID | Todd A. Wilbanks | Atlanta, GA |
| Jerry Festa | Freeport, NY | Edward Hill | Philadelphia, PA | Greg Nicholson | Charlotte, NC |
| Stanley kistela | Freeport, NY | Chris Petty | Galveston, TX | Darrell J. Nieman | District of Columbia |
| Joe Stallone | Freeport, NY | Mike Wisko | Galveston, TX | Matthew Weber | District of Columbia |
| Craig Dougherty | Detroit, MI | Kari Lindberg | Columbus, OH | Jesse Robinson | Columbus, OH |
| Joseph A. Digiacomo | DeKalb County, GA | Barry Lewis | Shreveport, LA | Lillian SanPere | Miami, FL |
| Jeffrey Hackman | Miami, FL | Anthony Kelleher | Seat Pleasant, MD | Dominick M. Vallo | Jersey City, NJ |
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Freeport, NY FD |
| The Fire Department was confronted with
a 2 ½ story Queen Anne private dwelling with an extremely heavy fire both inside and
outside. The electric service to the house burned through and fell onto the chain link
fence surrounding the house, charging it and hampering the attack. Firefighters Eberhardt,
Matthews and Soto were ordered by the Incident Commander to stretch a line up the aerial
ladder to protect members attempting to rescue a woman trapped in the attic. Eberhardt thought he heard the woman screaming and entered the attic under extreme heat and heavy smoke. Once inside he met Firefighter Festa. They found the woman, removed her from her bed and carried her back towards the front window. As they arrived at the window it became apparent that removal |
would be difficult due to
the heat and smoke as well as the victim’s poor condition. The tower ladder basket
was moved to the window area. Captain Kistela (photo not available), in the basket, left
it and moved to the tower’s platform to get a satisfactory grip on the victim as she
was passed into the basket. Captain Joe Stallone, Engine 213, who was also on the platform, climbed partially into the window, and, thus balanced, helped pass the victim to Kistela. All this occurred with severe fire and smoke venting from below. Kistela remained in this vulnerable position as the tower was lowered and the victim was removed to the street. Unfortunately her injuries were too severe and she died while in the hospital. |
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On January 28, 1998,
Engine 60 responded to a fire. Sergeant Craig Dougherty was told that several people,
including three children, were trapped on the second floor. Without the protection of a
hoseline Dougherty fought his way through heat and smoke to the second floor rear bedroom.
With the help of Firefighter Stephen Uhr of Engine 50, Dougherty located and removed a young woman along the hallway and down the stairs to the street. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital, where she recovered from her injuries. Without the efforts of Sergeant Dougherty she would surely have perished. |
Craig Dougherty, Detroit, MI FD |
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Quint 24 responded to a
working fire in a single family dwelling. Engine 7 was fighting the fire. Quint 24 was
assigned ventilation, utility control and primary search. Early into the incident it was
reported that a person might be trapped inside. While Engine 7 fought the fire, the crew
of Quint 24 entered the structure and began a search. The house was a split level floor plan, so the crew went down stairs on the first floor into what looked like two bedrooms. Firefighter DiGiacomo took a left hand search pattern and early into his search he came to an interior locked door. He forced the door open and was met with heavy smoke and heat. He crawled in total darkness and located a victim on the laundry room floor. Quint 24’s officer notified the incident commander that the crew had located a victim and would bring him out the front. EMS was on the scene and medical treatment began immediately. The patient was unconscious and not breathing at the scene, but he made a full recovery. |
Joseph A. Digiacomo, DeKalb County, GA Fire & Rescue |
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While traveling on a major
roadway, Firefighter Hackman witnessed the following accident: A police officer providing
funeral-escort service was struck by an automobile. He was subsequently struck by a
limousine in the procession and ended up pinned completely under this vehicle. The limo
driver panicked and wanted to back his vehicle over the victim. Hackman quickly took
control of the scene. He prevented the limo driver from moving the vehicle and recruited bystanders to physically pick up the limousine and free the officer. Hackman then assessed the victim’s injuries and stabilized him prior to the arrival of a rescue crew. The officer was airlifted to the local trauma center, where he was treated and later released. Firefighter Hackman stopped to render lifesaving aid without hesitation while off duty. His selfless efforts displayed his true dedication and commitment to his profession. |
Jeffrey Hackman, Metro-Dade Fire/Rescue, Miami, FL |
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Off-duty Firefighter
Gillespie saw smoke coming from a house and stopped to render help. The front window
shattered and smoke and fire vented from the house. Chris saw a man fall to the floor in a
room directly behind the fire room (from the front door one could look through the house
into the kitchen). Although fire engulfed most of the front room Chris attempted to enter and retrieve the victim, but was pushed back by heat and the collapsing ceiling. He ran to the back of the house and found a closed sliding glass door. He saw the victim lying 5 to 8 feet inside the kitchen from the door. Opening the unlocked door, he encountered heavy smoke but moderate heat and fire. He took a deep breath and headed for the victim, an elderly man who was still conscious, but very disoriented. Chris grabbed him by his hands and pulled him to safety. The victim had no major burns but suffered from extreme smoke inhalation. Fire and EMS units arrived on-scene 3 to 4 minutes after the rescue. The victim recovered from his injuries. |
Christopher Gillespie, Boise, ID FD |
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In the
early morning of February 4, 1997, off duty Firefighter Edward Hill was awakened by
screams for help from a neighboring home. He rushed to the house, where he met heavy fire
from the basement and first floor rear. Oppressive smoke and heat permeated the entire
dwelling. Hill immediately began searching for an elderly woman who was reported to be
trapped inside. He methodically searched the premises for several minutes before the arrival of the first engine company. Even after the arrival of Fire Department personnel, Hill continued to assist in the search until conditions deteriorated to the point where he was forced to vacate the property. Unfortunately the victim died in the fire. Firefighter Hill performed these acts under perilous conditions without the protection of any safety equipment, apparatus, or water lines. |
Edward Hill, Philadelphia, PA FD |
| Galveston, TX FD |
| On November 15, 1998, the
Galveston Fire Department received a call for a reported TV fire in an apartment. Engine
1’s crew saw smoke coming from a two-story wood frame apartment building as well as a
frantic woman hanging from a second story window. The crew had prior knowledge of an
invalid woman living on the second floor. Without a charged hoseline, Captain Wisko and Firefighter Petty entered the smoke charged structure and climbed to the second floor. They entered the invalid’s apartment and found two women. Petty pulled the hysterical woman back in from the window while Wisko prepared the invalid for movement. Petty assisted one victim down the stairway |
and outside.
Wisko picked up the invalid and began moving toward the doorway. As he reached the top of
the stairs in zero visibility he was met by Petty, who had returned to assist with this
rescue. With the rescues made, Petty and Captain Paul Chide re-entered the building with a charged hoseline to fight the fire. Wisko and Engineer Richie Pearson treated the two victims until EMS arrived. Both victims fully recovered. |
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On October 5, 1998 Engine /Medic 14 was dispatched to a scene where a man was threatening to jump from a third-story fire escape. Firefighter Lindberg responded along with other Division of Fire personnel in case emergency medical services were needed. While at the scene she developed a rapport with this emotionally disturbed man. She assisted Police Officer Sam Peck in dealing with the jumper. After nearly an hour of talking, Peck and Lindberg convinced the man to step back inside the railing of the fire escape. Once he was inside the railing, Officer Peck took the man into custody. This took place on a narrow fire escape, three stories high, with a man who could have become violent at any time. Without the efforts of Firefighter Lindberg, an emotionally disturbed man may have taken his life. |
Kari Lindberg, Columbus, OH FD |
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On
August 4, 1998, the Shreveport Fire Department responded to a house fire on Sandifer
Street. Upon arrival, fire and heavy smoke was seen to be coming from the structure. One
victim was removed from the home by an engine company crew, but did not survive. Captain
Lewis led the search for the second occupant. Lewis struggled through the smoke and heat
through the dining and living room, because the hallway was impassable. He found an unconscious man in a bedroom adjacent to a second bedroom that was fully involved. Lewis and his crew retraced their steps and dragged him from the home. The man’s life was saved due to the Captain Lewis’ professionalism and dedication. |
Barry Lewis, Shreveport, LA FD |
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At 2 AM on February 5, 1998,
Engine 8 arrived at the scene of a working fire in a two story wood frame house.
Bystanders screamed that a child was trapped inside. Firefighter Anthony Kelleher donned
his SCBA, but lacked a nomex hood. The desperate situation forced him to enter the blazing
house alone and without a hoseline He struggled through intense heat and smoke down the
hallway to a stairwell, which he climbed to the second floor bedroom area. He was now
directly above the fire. As he stumbled down the hall he found the body of a 9 year old boy. Kelleher grabbed the boy and retraced his steps to the outside. The boy had no vital signs, so Kelleher began CPR. After a couple of minutes a pulse was regained. Kelleher continued rescue breathing in the medic unit until the child was turned over to Emergency Room personnel. The boy recovered from his ordeal. |
| Anthony Kelleher, Seat Pleasant, MD FD |
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On January 3, 1999
Engine 10 responded to a reported structure fire with entrapment. Atlanta Police Officers
were on the scene trying to gain entry into a one story frame, single family dwelling, but
were being driven back by the intense heat and smoke. Heavy dark gray smoke was issuing
and fire was showing from the front of the house. Engine 10’s crew went to work.
While the officer, the plug man and the engineer stretched hoselines and secured a water
source, Firefighter Todd Wilbanks (photo not available), in full protective gear and SCBA,
went to the rear of the house to make a search for victims. Unable to wait for a hoseline, Wilbanks took a calculated risk and broke through the back door to search in searing heat and dense smoke with zero visibility. Performing a right-handed search, Wilbanks entered a room filled with toys. He heard a child crying in an adjacent room. Crawling in that direction, he found a young girl hiding under a bed. Wilbanks grabbed the child, stumbled to a window, and handed her to Atlanta Police Officer W. L. Allen, who brought the child to a medic company. They revived the child, and she fully recovered from her ordeal. |
Todd A. Wilbanks, Atlanta, GA FD |
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On July 20, 1998 Engine 12
responded to reported flooding. Upon arrival all autos were out of the floodwater. The
Engine 12 officer ordered Firefighters Nicholson and Ward to stop traffic on the south
side of the flooded roadway. Nicholson asked a female driver, whose car was flooded but
out of the water, if she was OK and if she needed help starting her car. At this time he
heard a stopped truck blow his horn as a warning that a truck traveling at a high rate of
speed was headed toward them. Nicholson and the woman were between the doors and the body
of the car. Nicholson pushed the woman into her car before trying to save himself. He tried to climb over the car to get away from the oncoming vehicle. The truck and trailer hit the car, pinning Nicholson between the door and post, injuring his leg. Nicholson and the victim were both treated by Engine 12’s crew and transported to the hospital for their injuries. The woman was released. Nicholson returned to duty after several weeks of disability. The driver of the truck was not injured and was arrested for a hit and run violation. |
Greg Nicholson, Charlotte, NC FD |
| District of Columbia, FD |
| On
the morning of November 20, 1997 Truck Company 16 was out-of-service for lack of funds to
maintain their rig. Without any fire apparatus, the three man crew completed paper work
and prepared their station for an upcoming Open House. At 10 AM a hysterical citizen ran
into the firehouse reporting smoke coming from an apartment building around the corner.
Moments later another civilian ran in reporting that a person was trapped in the
apartment. After calling in the alarm the men ran three blocks to the fire. Upon their
arrival fire was showing from a second floor window of a three story building. Persons out
front confirmed that someone was trapped. Truck 16 is quartered with Engine 32 in a far
southeast section of Washington, D.C. The area has a strong reputation for fires, and
because of its remoteness it often takes some time for additional apparatus to arrive.
Knowing this, and coupled with the report of someone trapped, the decision was made to
execute a rescue, even though no Truck 16 members had protective gear.
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Engine
32 now arrived on the scene and began stretching an attack line into the building. After
assisting them with their line, Firefighters Weber and Nieman of Truck 16 began searching
the heat and smoke filled area outside the fire room. Without breathing apparatus the
environment was becoming rapidly untenable. Lieutenant Von Briesen of Engine 32 shouted that he had found the trapped victim and needed assistance removing him. Heat and smoke conditions were now critical as Nieman and Weber, risking their own safety and well being, went to the assistance of Lieutenant Von Briesen. The men attempted to drag the victim out of the fire apartment, but were disoriented as visibility was zero. Fortunately, Lieutenant Desautels of Truck 16 found an exit and guided them out. Firefighters Nieman and Weber began administering first aid and oxygen to the critically burned and unconscious man until an ambulance arrived. Although the victim later expired at the hospital, the unselfish, gallant efforts of Firefighters Nieman and Weber were truly in the greatest tradition of the fire department. |
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On September 17, 1996 off duty Firefighter Jesse Robinson was awakened by a knock on the door. A 7 year old boy shouted that his house was on fire. Robinson went to the house next door and learned that everyone was out except Dewayne Ford, who was still in his bed on the third floor. Robinson tried to reach the victim from inside the structure, but smoke was too thick. Robinson went to get a garden hose. From outside the house, he noticed that the victim had reached the window and fallen to the porch roof. As Firefighter Robinson set up a ladder and carried Mr. Ford down, fire crews arrived and helped Robinson to remove the victim from the hazardous area. |
| Jesse Robinson, Columbus, OH FD |
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From R.D. Paulison, Chief of the Metro-Dade Fire Rescue Department: With great pleasure, I am nominating Firefighter Lillian San Pere for a Firehouse Magazine heroism award based on her off-duty action in saving lives and protecting property at an apartment fire on November 11, 1998. While off duty, Firefighter SanPere responded to cries for help from neighbors and friends saying that a sixth-floor apartment of their high-rise was on fire. The apartment also was believed to be occupied. Using her experience and training as a guide, Firefighter SanPere acted instinctively. She quickly removed the occupants to a safe area, pulled hose from the hose cabinet, charged the line, and put out the fire, which involved most of the kitchen. Firefighter SanPere’s quick and efficient action prevented a major high-rise fire. She demonstrated her dedication and commitment to the fire service in protecting both life and property. |
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Lillian SanPere, Miami-Dade, FL Fire/Rescue |
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On October 15, 1998 off-duty Firefighter Vallo was traveling on I-287 when he came upon a three vehicle accident. No emergency personnel were on the scene. One of the autos was pinned against a highway divider by the truck. Fire was visible under the truck and was spreading toward the automobile. Vallo pulled off the highway, ran to the pinned, badly wrecked auto, and saw the trapped driver. Other concerned motorists offered assistance. Vallo asked them to call for help and asked for fire extinguishers. He was given several fire extinguishers and he attempted to suppress the spreading fire. After the last of almost 20 fire extinguishers were spent, the flames kept spreading and engulfed the auto with the victim still inside. Vallo tried to do everything humanly possible to extricate the victim from the vehicle. Vallo stayed as long as he could with the victim until the flames and heat were so intense that his clothing began to burn. He then had to step away from the inferno for his own safety. He watched in horror as the flames consumed the screaming victim. When emergency responders arrived the fire was extinguished in a matter of minutes. It took over forty-five minutes for rescue workers to extricate the victim from the vehicle. |
| Dominick M. Vallo, Jersey City, NJ FD |
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