2024 Valor & Community Service Awards

The Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor reflects a larger mission about what it means to be brave in the face of danger, as the award is named after Worcester, MA, Fire Department District Chief (Ret.) Mike McNamee, who displayed great courage at the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire in December 1999, when he made the bold decision to stop additional Worcester firefighters from entering the building when there already were six lost inside.

We would like to thank the following people for their assistance in selecting this year’s recipients:

Frank Becerra, firefighter (Ret.), Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department

Timothy S. Cowan, district fire chief, DeWitt, NY, Fire District

Jeffrey Pendelski, fire chief, Hinsdale, IL, Fire Department

Jared Renshaw, fire commissioner, Western Berks Fire Department, Berks County, PA

The Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor

Grand Prize

Jacob Ryks & Mason Conlin

Saint Paul, MN, Fire Department

Early on Jan. 3, 2024, Saint Paul Fire Department firefighters were dispatched for a possible dwelling fire with an open line. While en route, firefighters were notified of people possibly trapped. When firefighters arrived, they found fire and smoke from a one-story house. Firefighters Jacob Ryks and Mason Conlin, who both were detailed to Squad 1 that shift, prepared to enter the house, with Ryks forcing entry and Conlin helping to get the hoseline flaked out. As Ryks entered the house, dispatchers confirmed that people still were on the line and trapped. Ryks, before the hoseline was in operation, passed the fire in a front room to locate the bedrooms. In the first bedroom, he felt around and found a child on a bed, who he carried back to the front door and out to the yard to turn over for care. He returned to the same room, where he encountered a bunk bed and found another child. He scooped up the child and rushed the youngster outside to safety. With water on the fire, Conlin peeled off and began to search, when he found a child in another bedroom and carried the individual outside. He continued to search. Instincts kicked in, and he unraveled a blanket and found another child, who he brought to medics outside. Ryks returned to the same room where he found the first two children and located a third child. Once outside, he found all crews committed to life-saving efforts and heard a staging area for ambulances, so he ran that child to a fresh crew. At the same time, a firefighter and a captain located and removed a sixth child and the youngster’s mother. All six of the children—all were younger than six years old—were unconscious when they were pulled from the house, but they were revived by the time that medics left the hospitals to return to the scene. Despite the valiant efforts, four of the children and the woman eventually succumbed to their injuries.

Michael Chafin & Barron Summey

Gastonia, NC, Fire Department

Gastonia Fire Department (GFD) Rescue 1 was called to assist the town of Ranlo when a woman climbed a cellphone tower. She stopped climbing 175 feet in the air—a location that was 75 feet above a 100-foot aerial platform that had been postioned adjecent to the cellphone tower—as she negotiated with first responders. At one point during the incident, the woman released her hold on the tower, and she fell backward. GFD Capt. Barron Summey was close enough to grab the lower part of her left leg and stop her fall. Using his arms and body, Firefighter Michael Chafin was able to secure the woman’s body to the cellphone tower monopole to prevent her from falling. Using a body cord, Summey secured the woman’s ankles, while she was kicking, to a peg that was on the monopole. Chafin and Summey worked to apply a rescue harness to the inverted woman. Meanwhile, firefighters rigged a lowering system via an anchor above Chafin, Summey and the woman. Once the device was installed, Summey utilized the lowering system to ease the woman down from her location while Chafin guided her to rescuers who were positioned in the aerial platform.

Gregory W. Nelson & Andrew M. Vernon

Baltimore City Fire Department

When the cargo ship Dali struck and collapsed the main span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, 2024, fortunately, the bridge was closed for repairs, but the collapse pitched eight construction workers into the cold Patapsco River. Members of the Baltimore City Fire Department Rescue Company No. 1 were transported to the scene on a Maryland Transportation Authority Police boat. They encountered a swift current that was shifting the debris from the collapsed span and the threat of the remaining spans of the bridge being unstable overhead. Emergency Vehicle Driver Gregory W. Nelson and EMT/Firefighter Andrew M. Vernon, who both donned water rescue surface suits, located a submerged vehicle. Without regard for their safety in an area that was filled with underwater hazards and with zero visibility, the two entered the frigid waters to conduct a search. The pair made multiple dives to access the cab of the vehicle and searched for any victims. None were found.

Brian Chalfant

Jefferson Hills Fire Rescue, Finleyville, PA

On Aug. 23, 2024, Chief Brian Chalfant of Jefferson Hills Fire-Rescue, who was off duty, arrived at a working fire in a two-story residential structure in Elrama, PA, where a victim was trapped. Chalfant climbed a ladder to a second-floor bedroom window and was able to find the victim just below the windowsill. He entered the window and was able to lift the victim out of the window to another firefighter on the ladder. As the firefighter began to carry the victim down the ladder, fire conditions changed quickly, and the room flashed over while Chalfant still was inside. Chalfant jumped to the ladder to escape, and, with the ladder failing, he let go and fell 15 feet. Chalfant sustained second- and third-degree burns to his hands, arms and back.

Andrew C. Cohen & Erik Rivera

Plainview, NY, Fire Department

On Feb. 18, 2024, crews responded around 5 a.m. to a working fire at Harmon Shepherd Hill Apartments, which is a senior living complex in Plainview. First Deputy Chief Andrew C. Cohen arrived to find smoke and flames showing from the two-story building. Before any fire apparatus arrived, Cohen entered the burning building and effected the rescue of several elderly residents. Ex-Chief Erik Rivera arrived and teamed up with Cohen to continue rescue efforts as firefighters arrived. The two forced entry into an apartment, where they were able to locate and remove an elderly woman from the vicinity of the fire. Two other occupants died in the fire.

Jeffrey A. Rosenthal & James P. Walsh

East Meadow, NY, Volunteer Fire Department

The East Meadow Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a reported bedroom fire on Oct. 28, 2024. Chief James P. Walsh arrived within three minutes, followed by Assistant Chief Jeffrey A. Rosenthal. They found heavy smoke from the front door and A/B corner of the two-story, split-level house. While Rosenthal donned his PPE and Walsh established command, a visibly frantic occupant told them that her 96-year-old mother still was in the house. The woman was able to get her mother out of the room where the fire was located, but the mother became entangled in furniture, and worsening conditions forced the daughter to exit the house while her mother still was inside. Without full turnout gear and no suppression units on scene, Walsh and Rosenthal entered the house, where they found the elderly woman in an area with choking smoke and flames rolling just six feet above her. She was bleeding from injuries. Walsh was able to get hold of the woman and carry her down the stairs to the house’s mid-level. As fire conditions deteriorated, Walsh and Rosenthal were able to position the woman on a kitchen chair and carry her down to the first floor, where they exited the house. The victim was released from the hospital after recovering.

Joshua McCullough

Glen Rock, PA, Hose & Ladder Company

On March 6, 2024, just after 5 a.m., Assistant Chief Joshua McCullough found fire and smoke showing from a two-story house in Shrewsbury Township. Before a hoseline was in place and with zero-visibility conditions, McCullough entered the house. With fire conditions advancing, McCullough crawled past the fire and found a hallway that led him to the bedrooms as he initiated his search. During his searches, he was able to locate an elderly woman, and he pulled her through the house and out a kitchen door. An EMS crew was able to revive the woman. During the rescue, McCullough sustained first-degree burns to his ears and neck.

Valor Award Honorable Mentions

Robert G. Bilko - Prince George’s County, MD, Fire and EMS Department
Jared Harrison - Lincolnville, SC, Fire Department
Michael Louis Kuk - Hornbeck, LA, Volunteer Fire Department
Devon Kuny & James Stapleton - DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
Buddy Lemons - San Angelo, TX, Fire Department
Christopher Myshak & Jedidiah Nelson - Rochester, NY, Fire Department
Cody Rogers - Taylorville, IL, Fire Department
Brian Snyder - Hagerstown, MD, Fire Department
Larry Walters - Medina, OH, Fire Department

Unit Citations

Engine Co. 17, Rescue Squad 2 & Truck Co. 4

DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department

On arrival, crews of the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department found a one-story commercial building with an extensive collapse and fire conditions after an automobile crashed into it. One occupant of the automobile was trapped inside of the vehicle, which was covered with heavy debris as a result of the collapse. Members of Engine Co. 17 stretched a hoseline through a small opening in one of the vehicle’s windows for the purpose of applying water to protect the person. The members of the crew from Rescue Squad 2 used a RIT pack to provide fresh air to the victim while other crews began rescue efforts. Firefighters from Rescue Squad 2 and Rescue Squad 3, operating under fire conditions and threats of a secondary collapse, worked to free the victim with assistance from the Rescue Wrecker, which was utilized to lift the heavy debris off of the vehicle. Simultaneous to those efforts, Truck Co. 4’s crewmembers cut a column from the building that fell on the vehicle and then lifted the column off of the vehicle, which allowed members to remove the victim from the automobile.

Dive Rescue Team, Fire Rescue Boat 1 & Fire Rescue Boat 2

Baltimore City Fire Department

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area collapsed into the Patapsco River on March 26, 2024, multiple fire companies from the Baltimore City Fire
Department (BCFD) and other agencies responded. The members of the crews of BCFD Fire Rescue Boat 1 and Fire Rescue Boat 2 navigated their vessels into positions as close as possible to the sprawling debris field, which presented multiple overhead and underwater dangers to the rescuers who were on board the craft. Crewmembers executed real-time reconnaissance of the incident. This effort involved searching for survivors, locating hazards and providing an operational picture to the incident command post. Members of the BCFD Dive Rescue Team began a coordinated dive operation. They did this despite cold, murky water that presented zero-visibility conditions and swift currents. Each of the dives that were undertaken was considered a high-risk evolution because of the tons of unstable steel and concrete.

St. Charles, KY, Volunteer Fire Department &

Manitou, KY, Volunteer Fire Department

After a violent EF3 tornado tore through Hopkins County, KY, on May 26, 2024, and delivered miles of damage, members of the St. Charles Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched in response to a report of two people who were trapped inside of a house that had collapsed when it was struck by the tornadic winds. Firefighters/crews of the Manitou Volunteer Fire Department also were requested to respond. Crewmembers encountered a collapsed house, with a male trapped below the debris of the structure’s collapsed chimney. For approximately four hours, firefighters worked to remove debris and rescue the man from under the collapsed structure. During the hourslong rescue efforts, crewmembers located and recovered the body of a deceased 48-year-old woman.

Engine 2

Winter Haven, FL, Fire Department

A vehicle fire that occurred under a carport quickly spread to the exterior of a mobile home in Winter Haven, FL, on April 11, 2024. When firefighters arrived, they learned that occupants were trapped inside. Firefighters split up to search the structure and work to control the intense fire conditions and protect adjacent exposures. Lt. Ariel Gonzalez and Firefighters Julian Gonzalez and Wilder Rodriguez began a search of the home, under heavy smoke and fire conditions. During the search that the three members conducted, they located two residents and removed them to safety.

Unit Citations Honorable Mentions

Engine 5 - Cliffside Park, NJ, Fire Department
Engine 25, Medic 25 & Battalion 3, Jasper County, SC, Fire-Rescue and Truck 84 & Battalion 8 - Hardeeville, SC, Fire Department
Eastport, NY, Fire Department
First Deputy Chief and Engine Co. 2 - Plainview, NY, Volunteer Fire Department
Engine 3, Streator, IL, Fire Department Shift 1 - Taylorville, IL, Fire Department
Engine 5, Squad 5, Rescue 2 & Truck 1 - Wichita, KS, Fire Department

Community Service

Sara Stockstrom

O’Fallon, IL, Fire Department

Without full-time staffing in the O’Fallon Fire Department, Sara Stockstrom managed to deliver more than 100 community events during 2024, including 50 fire and life-safety events as well as injury-prevention and other life-saving messages on a variety of topics, to the citizens of the 45,000-person community.

Among the highlights from last year, Stockstrom developed a safety education class for second-grade students, which she’s been expanding this year. Tasked with enhancing outreach efforts, she acquired an augmented-reality fire extinguisher training kit for citizens of all ages. Stockstrom widened the department’s outreach by leveraging multiple social media platforms to share weekly fire-safety messages.

Under her direction, the department installed more than 220 smoke detectors, replaced batteries on more than 180 smoke alarms and distributed 100 fire extinguishers to residents. Stockstrom oversaw the department’s annual three-day fire prevention open house, which included a live-fire residential sprinkler system demonstration.

Brian Clark, Elizabeth Eaglin, Kavona Rodgers & Renee Wasco

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

The Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department’s Community Relations Office reached more than 25,000 citizens with fire and life-safety awareness and education in 2024, despite being understaffed.

The current team, which consists of community developers Elizabeth Eaglin and Renee Wasco and firefighters Brian Clark and Kavona Rodgers, took its life-saving messages to schools, public events and more.

Among the benchmarks that the team attained, they connected with 13,899 students and staff during events at schools; 9,776 people through community events; and 1,167 people while presenting at senior living facilities and gatherings.

The team installed 167 car seats and more than 450 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Twin Falls, ID, Fire Department

Technical Rescue Team

Since 2018, the Twin Falls Fire Department Technical Rescue Team has supported Courageous Kids Climbing events that provide opportunities for people with special needs to experience rock wall climbing.

Members of the team take advantage of these public outreach opportunities to enhance their skills for working with people with special needs while helping to reduce the fear that any participant might harbor toward people in uniform.

In addition, the team uses a 4:1 haul system that allows the children to share climbing experiences with the firefighters. During the program, the kids are encouraged to ask the firefighters for a private tour of their apparatus, to provide additional interactions.