August 29, 2016 — The crews from San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) Firehouse 7 have been awarded the top 2015 Firehouse Magazine Unit Citation. The Unit Citation Awards—ranked for the first time this year—are part of Firehouse’s larger awards program, the Valor & Community Service Awards.
Crews from Engine 7, Truck 7 and Rescue Squad 2 are recognized for their brave and well-coordinated actions that resulted in multiple rescues during a structure fire on March 11, 2015.
Engine 7—Captain Eric Leal, Firefighter Saade Magaly, Firefighter/Paramedic Paul Mangiola and Probationary Firefighter Mario Riley—deployed its extension ladder to the second-floor window of the peaked roof residential-over-commercial structure and started removing children from the window.
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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.
Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Tim Sendelbach expressed his appreciation for Firehouse 7’s bravery and service to the citizens of San Francisco: “It's 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.”
Firehouse 7 receives a cash award for the honor and will be featured in the October issue of Firehouse Magazine.
The other top Unit Citation honorees are as follows:
- Second place: Virginia Task Force 1 (Fairfax County, VA)
- Third place: Baltimore City Fire Department Truck 10, Rescue 1 and EMS 5
- Fourth place: Fairfax County, VA, Fire Department Engine 404, Truck 425, Rescue 439, Medic 404, Medic 431 and Emergency Medical Supervisor 401
- Fifth place: Douglas County, OR, Fire District #2 first responders
- Sixth place: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Engine 12
Twenty-two others are recognized as honorable mentions in this category.
To read more about the honorees in this year’s Valor & Community Service Awards, visit firehouse.com/valor-awards.
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.
About the Firehouse Valor & Community Service Awards
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].
About Firehouse
Firehouse is the leading fire and emergency services brand, reaching more than 1 million unique visitors and subscribers monthly, and thousands of attendees annually, via its live events and media portfolio. The Firehouse brand encompasses Firehouse Magazine, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Firehouse Station Design Conference and Awards, and a host of print and digital products targeting fire and emergency services personnel. Utilizing its multiple platforms and unparalleled reach, Firehouse sets itself apart from the competition by fostering a culture that encourages innovation and the use of the latest digital and database technologies to best serve its audience and companies serving the marketplace.
