Firehouse.com

For his dedication to the fire service and the mission of public education, Stoothoff has been selected as a recipient of a Firehouse Magazine 2009 Heroism & Community Service Award.

When Capt. Eddie Tackett fell through a hole while at a house fire, his fellow firefighters lifted him out.

He shielded a female victim from a barrage of bullets during a standoff.

Despite his own devastating fire losses, Smith never once thought about giving up the fire service and has continued to serve as a volunteer in his home town.

It's not every day firefighters find themselves clinging to bridges 150 feet above an icy river on a cold December morning, fighting with a person who is hell bent on plunging to an almost certain death.

FDNY Lt. Michael Fitall recalled the Jan. 27, 2009 incident in which he and his crew rescued a grandmother as one of the defining moments of his career.

"It was a Monday night around 5 a.m.… Before we went out the door, we knew we were going to work," Czech said of the Jan 27, 2009 incident.

When Hawthorne was the first to arrive at the scene of a four-unit apartment fire, just yards from his home, he knew he didn't have much time to act.

On Feb. 24, 2009, at 3:48 a.m., Augier and Jurgens responded to a Chinatown tenement fire – an incident that turned out unique compared to anything they had experienced before.

Infant triplets were saved thanks to this pair, as well as Bethesda Naval Firefighter Jody Sealey and Montgomery County Capt. Kimonti Oglesby.

Martinelli has been selected by Firehouse Magazine as the grand prize recipient for the 2009 Heroism & Community Service Awards for rescuing a man from a March 1, 2009 apartment fire.