FHExpo16: Firehouse Recognizes Winners in Valor & Community Service Awards Program

NASHVILLE—Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Tim Sendelbach recognized the top winners in the 2015 Firehouse Valor & Community Service Awards program during this morning’s opening ceremonies at Firehouse Expo in Nashville.

Lt. Brian J. Colleluori, FDNY Ladder Co. 174, was presented with the 2015 Firehouse Magazine Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor; the crews from San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) Firehouse 7 were honored as the top Unit Citation; and the Africa Fire Mission (AFM), which was founded by a group of Cincinnati-area firefighters from both career and combination departments, was recognized as the top Community Service honoree.

Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor

Sendelbach praised Lt. Colleluori for his actions during a structure fire in Brooklyn on Feb. 1, 2015. Faced with heat and heavy black smoke under pressure, Lt. Colleluori entered the building to conduct a search for life. Twenty-five feet into the structure, he came upon an unconscious 65-year-old man and was able to help evacuate the victim. He then continued his search and came across an unconscious 49-year-old woman. With fire above his head, Lt. Colleluori began dragging the victim toward the exit. Conditions rapidly deteriorated and a flashover occurred. With fire 2 feet off the floor, Lt. Colleluori was pinned down by flames. He attempted to shield the victim from the heat by lying on top of her. Other crewmembers were able to improve fire conditions in the room so that Lt. Colleluori could drag the victim toward an exit.

Sendelbach expressed his appreciation for Lt. Colleluori’s bravery and service to the citizens of New York: “It’s an honor to recognize Lt. Colleluori with the Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor. His actions on Feb. 1, 2015, represent the selfless courage of an American firefighter, and his humility epitomizes the mark of a true public servant.”

Sendelbach presented Lt. Colleluori with a custom bronze trumpet provided by Liberty Art Works. He also received a $3,000 cash award and a medal provided by Blackinton.

Top Unit Citation

Sendelbach recognized the crewmembers from Firehouse 7—Engine 7, Truck 7 and Rescue Squad 2—for their brave and well-coordinated actions that resulted in multiple rescues during a structure fire on March 11, 2015. Several of the crewmembers—Firefighters Saade Magaly, Mario Riley, Tony Rocha and Chet Spirlin—were present to receive the honor. The Unit Citation Awards—ranked for the first time this year—are part of Firehouse’s larger awards program, the Valor & Community Service Awards.

Engine 7, Truck 7 and Rescue Squad 2 responded to a fire in the city’s Mission District. Engine 7—Captain Eric Leal, Firefighter Saade Magaly, Firefighter/Paramedic Paul Mangiola and Probationary Firefighter Mario Riley—found a two-story Type V peaked roof residential-over-commercial structure with heavy black smoke and fire. Engine 7 deployed its extension ladder to the second-floor window of the peaked roof residential-over-commercial structure and started removing children from the window.

Truck 7—Lt. Sean Bonetti and Firefighters Chet Spirlin, Duane Rivera, Tony Rocha and Frank Wong—started laddering all windows and forcing entry for egress. Two people reported to Lt. Bonetti that there were people trapped inside. Without the protection of a hoseline, Bonetti made entry into the rear of the structure and found a resident (the mother) in the pantry area. He removed the victim from the structure and radioed to command emergency traffic of possible people trapped in the rear of the structure.

Simultaneously, Rescue Squad 2—Lt. Randy Hiro and Firefighters Victor Hurtado, John Dunn and Adam Wood—conducted a search of the structure. Lt. Hiro and Firefighter Hurtado were removing one victim while Firefighters Wood and Dunn were continuing their search. Dunn was removing another victim and Wood was cut off from the others because the fire flashed. Without the protection of a hoseline, Wood made it to the rear of the structure and found another victim (the father). Wood made it to the back of the structure where he was met by Rivera and Wong, and they brought the patient to street level to perform CPR.

As Bonetti was making his way back to the command post, a faint scream came from the front of the liquor store. Trapped behind a locked security gate were two store employees. Firefighters Rocha and Spirlin used a rotary saw and Halligan to free the victims.

Sendelbach expressed his appreciation for Firehouse 7’s bravery and service to the citizens of San Francisco: “Its truly an honor to recognize these men and women for their relentless courage and extraordinary actions on March 11, 2015. Because of them, many civilians are alive today. Engine 7, Truck 7 and Rescue Squad 2, you truly are America’s Bravest.”

The crewmembers from Firehouse 7 were presented certificates of achievement and will receive a cash award as well.

Community Service Award

Africa Fire Mission provides fire departments across Africa with equipment and training to keep their firefighters safe and to help protect the communities they serve. Additionally, the organization works with existing missions in order to equip them with fire prevention and community fire response strategies. Specifically, the organization has collected five large shipping containers of outdated PPE for use in Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, where firefighters have virtually nothing to protect themselves while fighting fires or handling auto accidents and EMS calls. Members of the AFM now include firefighters from across the United States and Canada who have traveled to these countries on four occasions to issue PPE and train local firefighters on how to use it and apply safe and effective operational tactics. 

The latest trip to Kenya, in November 2015, provided the first-ever Kenyan Fire Academy in which the Nairobi International Airport Fire Brigade hosted firefighters from throughout that country. This countrywide train-the-trainer concept has now become the model for AFM to host training academies in the other three countries they now serve. More importantly, the AFM has fostered a firefighter-to-firefighter partnership that spans international borders.

Sendelbach lauded Africa Fire Mission’s commitment to building and increasing the sustainable capacity of fire departments across Africa: “The Africa Fire Mission exemplifies the compassion and selflessness of the American fire service. It’s an honor to recognize their efforts and to acknowledge that because of their relentless dedication and selfless service, thousands of men, women and children outside our borders are being protected from the threat of fire.” 

Africa Fire Mission was presented a cash award for the honor.

Additional information

Firehouse would like to thank the 2015 Valor Awards Program corporate sponsors: Aladtec, Alert-All, Blackinton, CMC Rescue, Continental Girbau, eDispatches.com, Fire Station Outfitters, Fol-Da-Tank, IMS Alliance/Legend Data Systems, Liberty Art Works, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, Paratech, Pelican Products, Phenix Technologies, TCA Architecture Planning, and Waterway. Their support and generosity help us honor America’s Bravest.

The Firehouse Valor & Community Service Awards is the largest awards program of its kind in the fire service. Nominations for the awards open each year in January, with submissions due in April. To have your department’s acts of valor or community service considered for an award, please e-mail [email protected].

To read more about the honorees in this year’s Valor & Community Service Awards, visit firehouse.com/valor-awards.