4. Carlos Samuels

City of Richmond, VA, Department of Fire & EMS

On Dec. 17, 2016, a box was struck for an apartment fire with a child trapped. 11 Engine arrived on scene to find smoke billowing out of the building, creating zero visibility in the street. After locating the apartment on fire and with citizens screaming about a trapped child, crews entered the apartment without the protection of a hoseline. Firefighters Carlos Samuels and Parker Ramsey were about four feet inside a bedroom searching for the infant and Acting Lt. Marcus McGee was at the bedroom door entrance when the room flashed over. The three retreated to the top of the steps. With conditions deteriorating quickly and fire rolling across the hallway ceiling, Samuels crawled down the hall where he found an open door to another bedroom. Samuels then found the infant lying on the bed, covered the infant as best he could, ducked under the fire and made it to the top of the steps, passing Ramsey and McGee who were now headed back up the steps with a charged hoseline. Once outside, Samuels ran a half block to Ambulance 85 to hand over the infant, and then returned to the fire apartment where he assisted McGee in the firefight. Samuels and Ramsey suffered minor burns. The infant had only minor injuries and was released from the hospital the next day.

5. Peter J. Brady

FDNY – Brooklyn

On Oct. 14, 2016, Ladder 174 members responded to a structure fire on the second floor of a three-story private dwelling. With reports someone was still in the house, Lt. Christopher Ganci, Firefighter Peter J. Brady and Probationary Firefighter Yahya Khatari (Engine 283) forced entry and went to the second floor where they were met with high heat and blackout conditions. With the fire rapidly advancing over their heads, Brady made a left-handed search of the fire area while Khatari held back the flames with the extinguisher. Brady got low and crawled under the flames to get into the back bedroom where the victim was reported. He continued his search past the fire and found an unconscious female in respiratory arrest in the bedroom. Brady immediately notified Ganci that he had a 10-45 (victim) and needed help with removal. With no hoseline yet in place and the windows unable to be used for removal, Brady dragged the victim past Khatari and met up with Ganci for removal of the female. The firefighter and lieutenant removed the fire victim to the street and transferred her to the care of EMS personnel.

6. Marcus Gombs and Dave McDonald

Seminole County, FL, Fire Department

On April 25, 2016, at 11:30 p.m., Firefighter/Paramedics Marcus Gombs and Dave McDonald responded to a residential structure fire with reports of victims trapped, including two children. Crews forced entry into the single-story structure, which was heavily involved in fire and smoke, and removed the father through the front door. The mother, who had been rescued out of the bedroom window by a neighbor, advised that two children were still in their bedrooms. Without the protection of a hoseline, crews entered through the bedroom windows to begin search and rescue operations. Encountering high heat and low visibility, the crews didn’t locate either child in the bedrooms and expanded search efforts. The 4-year-old male was found unresponsive in the living room. Gombs removed the 4-year-old through the window and quickly initiated advanced life support. After determining that the second child wasn’t in her bedroom, McDonald located the 2-year-old female unresponsive in the hall bathroom, along with the family dog. He removed the 2-year-old through the bedroom window and then initiated CPR, ultimately regaining a pulse prior to transport. The dog, which was removed by other crewmembers, also survived.

7. Brian Herrli and Jason Lach

Chicago Fire Department

On Nov. 14, 2016, at 3:19 a.m., Squad 5 was dispatched to a Still Alarm fire in a 2½-story frame, residential building with a masonry front façade. Flames were starting to lap up from the first-floor windows on sides A and B. Engine 116 lead out a 21/2-inch handline with a 13/4-inch line attached and began to make an interior attack on the first floor near side A. As soon as flames were partially darkened near the base of the stairway leading to the second floor, Firefighters Brian Herrli and Jason Lach from Squad 5 were sent by their officer to conduct a primary search of the second floor. The firefighters rushed to the second floor and began searching under high-heat and zero-visibility conditions. While rapidly searching the second-floor middle bedroom, Herrli and Lach found two children unresponsive in their bed. The large volume of fire encountered in the initial attack in the front stairwell and first-floor area had made egress questionable, so Herrli and Lach elected to bring the children to safety via the rear stairs of the structure. Other members of Squad 5 had just forced entry through a heavy security door in the rear, which allowed Herrli and Lach to remove the two children to an awaiting ambulance.

8. Rene Gonzales

Fresno, CA, Fire Department

On Oct. 21, 2016, at approximately 5:35 p.m., Probationary Firefighter Rene Gonzales was off duty and traveling home in his personal vehicle on Highway 180 when he came upon an accident that had just occurred. Multiple vehicles were involved, and one vehicle was on fire. Running up to the vehicle on fire, Gonzales noticed fire in the rear trunk area of the vehicle spreading into the passenger compartment. The driver was unconscious, with her legs trapped somewhere below the dash. An unknown male bystander was attempting to pull the victim out of the passenger side of the vehicle. Gonzales found a metal pipe and tried to open the vehicle door, but was unsuccessful. He used the pipe to break the driver’s side window and helped free the victim’s legs from under the dashboard. Gonzales and another bystander then carried the unconscious victim to safety, and Gonzales and two other bystanders initiated medical care. Gonzales was then notified that there may be an infant still in the vehicle. With fire spreading into the rear area of the passenger compartment and trunk area, Gonzales tried to search for the infant. Gonzales made multiple unsuccessful attempts to find the infant; the fire was too advanced, now spreading toward the front seats of the vehicle. A tow truck then arrived, so Gonzales asked for a fire extinguisher to use on the vehicle. The tow truck driver denied his request. When California Highway Patrol arrived, Gonzales notified the officer of the events, including the possible infant. The victim was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. With the assistance from CHP officers, the victim’s family was contacted and asked about the possible infant in the vehicle. The infant was in fact not in the vehicle at the time of the accident but safe at home with the victim’s parents.

9. Nick Bernhardy and Glenn Kopec Jr.

Unity Volunteer Fire Department – Plum, PA

On Feb. 20, 2016, at 5:40 a.m., units were dispatched for a report of smoke in the residence with occupants trapped. Upon arrival, crews found heavy smoke conditions. Medic 488 set up a 14-foot roof ladder at the garage roof where two children were rescued from a window by police. Firefighter Nick Bernhardy placed a 24-foot extension ladder to the C side to rescue a disabled elderly female, while 233 Captain 1 Glenn Kopec Jr. deployed 150 feet of 1¾-inch line to the front door. Bernhardy along with two police units evacuated the disabled female out the window and onto the Division 1 roof. Bernhardy gave the victim his SCBA for air, and the victim was removed from the roof via ground ladders to awaiting EMS. Simultaneously, Kopec was informed that there were two children in a second-floor bedroom. He donned SCBA and entered the structure at the front door performing a right-handed search. Kopec found two children in the bedroom and requested a ladder to the A/B window. He extricated the two children via a ladder and passed them to Medic 488.

10. Jonathan Vallero

St. Louis, MO, Fire Department

On the morning of Oct. 26, 2016, Rescue Squad 2C was dispatched to a fire in a building with reports of persons trapped. There was heavy smoke and fire reported. Upon arrival, Firefighter Jonathan Vallero and his partner Firefighter Dan Hill were assigned to search the second floor. They proceeded to the second floor, encountering heavy smoke and extreme heat conditions, and began a systematic search, clearing each room as they made their way to the rear of the structure without the aid of a handline. As they were conducting their search, Vallero located a child on the floor. The child was minimally responsive, so Vallero and Hill removed the child from the structure immediately. The child was handed to an awaiting St. Louis Fire Department medic unit, which immediately began life-saving measures. Neither firefighter was injured.