Firefighter Anthony Rueda, of the Milwaukee (WI) Fire Department, is the 2009 Ray Downey Courage and Valor Award recipient. Rueda was cited for saving the life of Milwaukee Fire Captain Theodore Stribling.
Stribling and Rueda responded to a working house fire at 2:47 a.m. on May 22, 2008. The two, masked up and advancing the line, proceeded cautiously on all fours, since Rueda had noted to the captain that the floor felt “squishy.” As they crawled across the floor, the wooden I-beam trusses supporting the floor gave way; Stribling and Rueda fell into the burning basement below.
Stribling was knocked unconscious in the fall. Rueda was struck repeatedly by falling debris, including the staircase he had tried to grab to break his fall. Rueda covered his head to protect himself from the falling debris and became concerned about Stribling. Although Rueda has suffered neck, back, and shoulder injuries in the fall, he located the unconscious captain. Rueda, who did not have a radio, took the radio from the captain’s pocket and called a Mayday. Noticing a light he believed might be from a window or a door, Rueda grabbed Stribling by his SCBA straps and began dragging him toward the light, which turned out to be a door. Rueda banged on the door repeatedly so the rapid intervention team (RIT) outside could identify their location. The RIT forced the door. Rueda and the RIT members dragged Stribling outside. Stribling and Rueda were given medical attention and transported to the hospital. Stribling sustained a head injury and broken ribs.
Robert F. Biolchini, chief executive officer of PennWell Corporation, the parent company of Fire Engineering and FDIC, and Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Battalion Chiefs Joe and Chuck Downey, sons of the late FDNY Deputy Chief Ray Downey, in whose memory the award was established, presented the award at the 2009 FDIC in Indianapolis in April. Chief Ray Downey, one of the most highly decorated members of FDNY, lost his life in the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
Biolchini, lauding Rueda for his “conspicuous act of bravery under difficult conditions,” further noted: “The Courage and Valor Foundation and this perpetual endowment will assist the American fire service in continuing to recognize Chief Downey and those firefighters whose bravery and actions in the face of certain harm mirror his. This morning, we gather to honor another true American hero, Milwaukee Firefighter Anthony Rueda.”
Rueda was awarded $35,000 and the Courage and Valor medal.
In addition to Biolchini, Joe and Chuck Downey, and FDIC Education Director and Fire Engineering Editor in Chief Bobby Halton, the Courage and Valor Selection Committee includes National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Director Ron Siarnicki and National Fire Academy Alumni Association President Ron Kanterman.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
March 14. Lieutenant William Roger Vorwark, 49, Odessa (MO) Fire & Rescue Protection District: apparent heart attack.
March 21. Firefighter Gregory Carroll Cooke, 60, Salem Volunteer Fire Department, Whitakers, NC: cardiac arrest.
March 23. Chief Nolan Schmidt, 37, Hydro (OK) Volunteer Fire Department: asphyxiation at a grain elevator fire; investigation pending.
March 26. Lt. Robert Strang, 60, Melbourne (FL) Fire Department: investigation pending.
March 27. Fire Chief Mike Gilbreath, 55, Double Springs (AL) Fire Department: injuries sustained when hit by a vehicle while clearing a roadway.
March 30. Firefighter/EMT-Training Officer Robert Andrew France, 45, Stateline (MS) Volunteer Fire Department: motorcycle collision.
March 31. Firefighter Manny Rivera, 43, Trenton (NJ) Fire Department: heart attack suffered at a residential fire on February 9, 2009.
April 2. Assistant Chief John William Jeffers, 54, Wellington-Greer (IL) Fire Protection District: myocardial infarction.
April 4. Firefighter John Weber, 77, Township Fire Department, Eau Claire, WI: investigation pending.
April 8. Pilot Heath Van Handel, 36, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: crash during wildland fire suppression operations.
April 12. Probationary Firefighter Damien Hobbs, 29, Houston (TX) Fire Department: succumbed to residential fire; incident under investigation.
April 12. Captain James Harlow, 50, Houston (TX) Fire Department: succumbed to residential fire; incident under investigation.
April 15. Fire Chief Charles Fletcher Clough Jr., 41, Sudlersville (MD) Volunteer Fire Company: single-motor-vehicle accident; investigation pending.
April 21. Station Chief/Firefighter Dennis M. Simmons, 63, Stafford County Fire Department, St. John, KS: heart attack.
April 21. Firefighter Patrick Reardon, 42, New Haven (CT) Fire Department: head injuries sustained on April 11 when he reportedly had a seizure and fell in the firehouse.
April 25. Crew Chief Brian Joseph Buss, 32, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: tanker crash; investigation pending.
April 25. First Officer/Co-Pilot Michael Wayne Flynn, 59, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: tanker crash; investigation pending.
April 25. Captain/Pilot Thomas L. Risk, 66, Neptune Aviation Services, Inc., Missoula, MT: tanker crash; investigation pending.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
Norman receives Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award
Deputy Assistant Chief (Ret.) John W. Norman III was awarded the Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 FDIC in Indianapolis in April. Norman retired from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) in 2007 as deputy assistant chief of operations, chief of Special Operations.
He joined FDNY in 1979, where he served in many capacities, including on busy engine and ladder companies in Brooklyn; Rescue Company 3 covering Harlem and The Bronx; the Hazardous Materials Company; and Rescue Co. 3, covering all of Brooklyn. He also was company commander of Rescue Co. 1, in the heart of the midtown Manhattan high-rise office building and hotel district; worked with the Safety Command and the Fire Commissioner’s High Rise Fire Safety Task Force; and developed FDNY’s contingency plan for the Millennium New Year’s Eve Celebration/Y2K. He was chief of Battalion 10 and Battalion 16 and the designated search and rescue manager for the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks site.
He is the author of the Fire Officer’s Handbook of Tactics, and its Study Guide, both published by Fire Engineering (2005, 2006 respectively).
The Lifetime Achievement Award is named for Tom Brennan, who served as editor of Fire Engineering for eight years and as a technical editor until his death. Brennan had served more than 35 years in the fire servicemore than 20 years with the FDNY and five years as chief of the Waterbury (CT) Fire Department. He was coeditor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering, 1995) and the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.
NIST’s Madrzykowski Instructor of the Year
Daniel Madrzykowski, PE, a fire protection engineer in the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded the 2009 George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award at FDIC in Indianapolis in April.
 (L-R) Fire Engineering Technical Editor Glenn Corbett; George D. Post Instructor of the Year Daniel Madrzykowski, from NIST; and ISFSI President Eddie Buchanan. (Photo by Tony Greco.) |
Madrzykowski is the developer of fire research and grant programs at NIST. His broad range of fire behavior experience is reflected in the numerous reports, CDs, and DVDs that NIST has developed and distributed to more than 250,000 fire instructors in the United States and worldwide for use in their training programs. These materials depict the behavior of fire in such circumstances as those involving flashovers, driving winds, and simulated tragedy-related fires.
A professional engineer in Maryland, Madrzykowski has a bachelor of science and a master of science degree in fire protection engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.
The award, which incorporates the Fire Engineering Training Achievement Award previously presented at FDIC, is named for George D. Post, a longtime member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) and a member of the Fire Department of New York. Many consider Post, also an illustrator for fire service publications and a developer of instructional materials, to be the father of visual training materials for fire service personnel around the world.
Health experts prepare for Influenza pandemic
On April 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Phase 5 worldwide pandemic alert relative to the novel H1N1 flu virus (previously referred to as the “swine flu”). Phase 5 indicates “a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The H1N1 virus is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza. The virus does not normally infect humans; however, human infections do occur and cases of human-to-human spread of the flu virus have been documented.
As of May 4, 2009, 11 a.m., ET, 286 cases of laboratory-confirmed cases of novel H1N1 were reported in 36 of the country’s states. New York led with 73 cases; Texas had 41; California had 30; Delaware, 20; Arizona, 17; South Carolina, 15; and Louisiana, 14. The remaining states ranged from eight cases to one case. There was one death, in Texas. A complete daily revised chart is at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/.
As of May 4 [press time], WHO reported that 21 countries had officially reported 1,085 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection. Mexico led with 590 confirmed human cases, included 25 deaths.
The U.S. Government declared a public health emergency in the country, and the CDC has been working to reduce transmission and severity of illness. Updated interim guidance information related to the rapidly evolving conditions is posted daily at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/.
All 50 states and U.S. territories have been sent antiviral drugs, personal protective equipment (masks), and respiratory protection devices from CDC’s Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The H1N1 virus is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for treatment and prophylaxis of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Also, the Federal Government and manufacturers have begun to develop a vaccine against this virus.
The U.S. Fire Administration, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security Health Leadership and other federal partners, has been issuing EMS, medical first responder, and 911-specific guidance documents and posting them at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ and www.EMS.gov/ (click on Pandemic News).
WHO Director-General Chan urged all countries to immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans and “to remain on high alert for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia.” She explained that “influenza viruses are notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behavior.”
Mike McEvoy, Fire Engineering’s EMS technical editor, has posted guidelines for fire service leaders, communications center/dispatch leaders, and firefighters and EMS providers at www.pennwellblogs.com/fireengineerng/2009/04/swine-flu-what-you-must-do-now.php/ and assistance for firefighters in answering common questions from the public at www.pennwellblogs.com/fireengineering/2009/05h1n1-flu-get-your-facts-straight.php/.
The CDC was scheduled to complete deployment of 25 percent of the supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile to all states in the continental United States by May 3. The medications and protective equipment will help states and U.S. territories to respond to any outbreaks.
On May 4, top health officials in the United States and abroad were cautiously optimistic that perhaps the new virus is not as lethal as was initially thought, according to The Washington Post (Rob Stein, April 28, 2009). It reported that Richard E. Besser, acting director of the CDC, said that genetic analysis did not detect in the influenza virus the “virulence factors” observed in the killer 1918 Spanish flu or the avian flu outbreak earlier this decade. Mexico’s Health Secretary reported that hospitals were reporting fewer new and serious cases. However, health officials say they must remain aggressive because there are still many factors associated with this virus outbreak that are unknown.
USFA Outstanding Research Award winners
The following fire service executives were awarded the United States Fire Administration (USFA)-National Fire Academy 2008 Outstanding Research Awards:
- Executive Development Course: Lt. Donald Waldron, Londonderry (NH) Fire Department, “An Analysis of Red Lights and Siren Use Responding to Emergency Medical Services Incidents” (PDF, 3.6 Mb).
- Leading Community Risk Reduction Course: Fire Chief J. Barry Burnside, City of Clinton (MS) Fire Department, “Determining Fire Hazards When Educators Decorate Their Classroom in Clinton, Mississippi” (PDF, 489 Kb).
- Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations in Emergency Management Course: Fire Chief Lee. A. Soptich, Eastside Fire & Rescue Department, Issaquah, WA, “Determining Core Emergency Scene Operational Standards for Eastside Fire & Rescue” (PDF, 533 Kb).
- Executive Leadership Course: Battalion Chief Michael E. Boyle, Orange County (CA) Fire Authority, Irvine, “Firefighter Rehabilitation in the Orange County Fire Authority: Are We Meeting the Need?” (PDF, 404 Kb).
“The range of topics chosen this year for the 2008 Outstanding Research Awards provides an illustrated example of the scope of issues that our senior executives must deal with,” notes Acting U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Denis Onieal.
To obtain a copy of the projects, contact the USFA, Executive Fire Officer Program, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; or call (800) 238-3358, extension 1639, and leave your request on voice mail. The projects are also available at the USFA Web site, http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/.
