2016 Valor Awards: $100 Winners

Firehouse is pleased to announce the honorees in the 2016 Firehouse Magazine Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor. The honorees displayed great bravery in the face of dangerous conditions.

Noah L. Allmond

Opelika, AL, Fire & Rescue

Upon arrival at a residential fire, Apparatus Operator Noah L. Allmond and Assistant Chief Keith Burnette were met by a woman who said her husband was inside. Heavy smoke and flames were visible, and no water supply had been established. Half of the front porch had collapsed. Allmond entered and found an unresponsive man in a bedroom. Lt. Tracey Johnson and Firefighter Cody Farr helped Allmond carry the man out. The man was revived with CPR.

Nicholas Chow

Chicago Fire Department

Ambulance 28 Fire Paramedic Nicholas Chow responded to a call of “Disturbance with a Mental.” The subject was in the police squad car when Chow arrived. He asked if he could have access to the patient to provide an evaluation. The suspect had gotten free of her handcuffs and grabbed for the officer’s firearm. Chow grabbed the subject’s right arm and began to assist the officer in removing her left hand from the firearm. With help of assisting officers, they were able to regain control of both of the subject’s arms and restrain her.

Luis Colon III

Jersey City, NJ, Fire Department

Firefighter Luis Colon III was off duty when he noticed smoke coming from a three-story building. He found a working fire on the first floor with heavy heat and smoke. He was informed that a child was trapped on the third floor. Unable to ascend the interior stairs, Colon, without PPE or SCBA, scaled the front of the building with a 6-foot ladder from floor to floor via the exterior balconies. He entered a third-floor window, found the child, carried the child back down the ladder and handed the child off to EMS.

Vito J. Giammarco

Cleveland, OH, Fire Department

Hook & Ladder 30 was dispatched to a house fire with reports of a victim trapped. Ladder 30 broke out the front porch windows, donned SCBA and without the protection of a charged handline, First Grade Firefighters Jose Aviles and Vito J. Giammarco entered the dwelling. Giammarco located the victim and passed her through a porch window to other crewmembers. Within seconds, a flashover occurred and the crew was forced to flee. The victim was transferred to Medic 10 for assistance.

Matthew Hagan

FDNY – Manhattan

Engine 80 arrived at a fire in a six-story building with commercial business on the first floor. Fire was communicating through the roll-down gates and up the front of the building. E-80 Captain Matthew Hagan raced to the second floor to join Ladder 30 in search and rescue efforts. He heard moans and forced entry into an apartment. He was met with heavy smoke and high heat conditions with zero visibility. Hagan found a semi-conscious victim in respiratory distress and dragged her out to the public hallway, where he passed her to Firefighter Kamar Malone, who carried her to safety.

Stanley Landry

Vernon, CT, Fire Department

The Town of Vernon, CT, Fire Department was dispatched for a house explosion. First-due units discovered a three-story dwelling where the upper floors had collapsed onto the lower floors and into the basement. Assistant Chief Stanley Landry was informed that four occupants were missing. Landry led a team of firefighters through a void in the structure at the B/C corner, crawling, digging and eventually reaching the A/D corner. Three victims were found under a pile of debris. With the structure shifting overhead, all three were removed. The fourth victim was removed by another team. All four survived.

Daniel A. Lovato

Washington, D.C., Fire and EMS Department

Upon arrival at an apartment fire, units discovered smoke showing from the third floor. With a report of people trapped, the members from Truck 7 raised a 30-foot ladder. Firefighter Daniel Lovato ascended the ladder to assist an elderly female on the balcony. There was heavy smoke and heat pushing out of the apartment behind the victim. Lovato reached the victim and placed his SCBA facepiece on her, allowing her to breathe until she could be rescued and removed from within the apartment.

Brandon Maurer

Wichita, KS, Fire Department

The Wichita Fire Department responded to a house fire with subject trapped. Lt. Stephen Runyan and Firefighter Brandon Maurer entered through the front door and found heavy smoke conditions. Runyan identified this as a possible basement fire. Maurer made his way toward the rear of the house and found the basement stairs. Encountering higher heat and heavier smoke conditions, Maurer made his way down the stairs where he located one unconscious victim on the staircase. He transmitted his findings to command, then removed the victim through the garage walk-through door at the top of the stairs.

John McAndrew and Edgar Gallo

Chicago Fire Department

Upon arrival at a fire scene, Truck 12 Captain John McAndrew witnessed heavy smoke conditions with civilians hanging out of second-floor windows. McAndrew and Firefighter Edgar Gallo placed a ladder, and McAndrew ordered members of Truck 12 to assist victims down as he and Gallo searched the building. They forced entry and proceeded up the stairwell in heavy smoke conditions and intense heat. They entered an apartment and found an unconscious female in the bathtub with the shower head running. They carried her down to the sidewalk. The victim was not breathing and had no pulse. McAndrew and Gallo administered CPR. Ambulance 56 arrived and provided ALS, and the victim started breathing.

Gerard McManus

FDNY – Queens

Ladder 155 arrived at a private dwelling with fire venting from first- and second-floor windows. With reports of a person trapped, Firefighter Gerard McManus breached a side fence and forced entry into the basement. He forced three more doors to gain entry to the first floor. He was met with high heat and heavy black smoke. As conditions worsened, McManus crawled on his stomach until he felt a foot. He dragged the victim out the back door, down the stairs and to the street. The patient was not breathing. McManus assisted Engine 308 with CPR. The victim survived.

Kimberly Menges

Wichita, KS, Fire Department

Upon arrival at a house fire, crews found a single-story duplex with smoke showing. Lt. Mark Misek was informed that a person might be trapped inside and instructed Firefighter Kimberly Menges to make access in search of the person. Menges encountered heavy smoke and moderate heat. She was able to locate a trapped male and drag him to the front door where Misek assisted in removing the victim. With patient care transferred to Squad 2, Misek and Menges stretched a hoseline and extinguished the fire.

Robert P. Meuser

FDNY – Bronx

Ladder 48 arrived at a multi-story apartment building with reports of a fifth-floor fire with a person trapped in a specific apartment. Lt. Robert P. Meuser and Firefighter Matthew Dematteis climbed the stairs, found the apartment and forced entry. They were met with high heat and heavy smoke. With no handline in position, Meuser used a TIC to see convected heat at the ceiling level. He crawled on his stomach and spotted the victim. Shielding her from the heat, Meuser removed the woman from the deteriorating hallway and passed her to Dematteis, who carried her to safety.

Thomas Rhodes

Prince George’s County, MD, Fire/EMS Department

Firefighter Thomas Rhodes, while off duty, came across a multi-vehicle accident in Virginia. Rhodes and two others broke out the rear window of an overturned tractor-trailer and removed the trapped driver shortly before the truck burst into flames. Rhodes then climbed into an SUV to assist the driver who was hanging upside down and experiencing difficulty breathing. Lying on his back, Rhodes was able to push up on her shoulders and relieve some pressure. He held her up for 45 minutes during the extrication. [Note: Rhodes was also nominated for an incident where he rescued an elderly couple from their apartment balcony.]

Kevin D. Roy

Fitchburg, MA, Fire Department

The City of Fitchburg MA, Fire Department was dispatched for a building fire with reports of people trapped. Chief of Department Kevin D. Roy, who lives nearby, was off duty but first on scene. With no turnout gear and without protection of a handline, Roy entered the rear of the building to check on the advancement of the fire and for any occupants. He noticed a victim lying on the floor just outside the fire rooms. The conditions were near flashover and deteriorating quickly as Roy pulled the unconscious victim to safety.

Devin Saragusa and James Spraggs

Bunker Hill, IL, Fire Department

The Bunker Hill, IL, Fire District was dispatched to an apartment fire in nearby Royal Lakes. Upon arrival, Lt. James Spraggs and Lt. Devin Saragusa were told there was one person still in their apartment and the door was locked. This was the apartment on fire. They used irons to force the door and a thermal imaging camera under heavy smoke conditions to find the victim. They were able to drag the victim past the fire before a line could be fully stretched. The patient was transported to the hospital and made a full recovery.

William Vaci

Chicago Fire Department

Truck 4 responded to a working fire. Upon arrival, heavy fire and smoke conditions were observed on the second floor of side A. An adult female was spotted at a third-floor bedroom window. A 35-foot extension ladder was in position, however, a column of smoke billowing out from the second-floor window prevented her from climbing out. Firefighter William Vaci climbed through heavy and hazardous smoke conditions to the top of the ladder, and swiftly secured and removed the occupant. Moments after the rescue was completed, fire broke through the second-floor window, engulfing the ladder.

Darren O. Ware

Prince George’s County, MD, Fire/EMS Department

Assistant Fire Chief Darren O. Ware was returning from an LODD funeral when he came across a car fire with the driver trapped. As forcible entry was in progress, the victim inadvertently stepped on the gas, driving the vehicle down a slope. With the help of a bystander and retired Deputy Chief Tyrone Wells, who was also returning from the funeral, Ware managed to get access to the passenger side and broke the window. With smoke rapidly filling the vehicle, Ware lifted the unresponsive victim from the driver’s seat and carried her up the hill to safety.

Honorable Mentions

James Miller and Donald Carroll

Baltimore City Fire Department

Jerry Cambria

Chicago Fire Department

Joseph Nea and Richard Vogt

St. Louis, MO, Fire Department

Joshua Paul Eaton

Ava, IL, Volunteer Fire Department

Ethan Webb

Burton Fire District – Beaufort, SC

Thomas Rhodes and Miguel Ocasio

Prince George’s County, MD, Fire/EMS
Station 834 – Chillum-Adephi

Marvin J. Richards

City of Miami Fire Rescue

Damian Motsinger

Lakeland, FL, Fire Department

Rachel Beth Itzoe

Level Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. –
Churchville, MD

Allen J. Stokes

Port Ewen Fire Department – Kingston, NY

James Scott Fromme

Wichita, KS, Fire Department

Justin A. Ryan

Amber Fire Department – Tully, NY

Robert Fields

Baltimore City Fire Department

Lonnie Jacob Wimmer and Ricky Leonard

Lewisville Fire Department – East Bend, NC