PGFD Firefighters Honored At Chamber's Fire/Police Luncheon
Hyattsville VFD
Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department
http://www.pgfd.com
FIREFIGHTERS HONORED AT 21ST ANNUAL
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE VALOR AWARDS CEREMONY
March 18, 1998
Prince George's County, Maryland -- The courageous acts of
County Fire Fighters, Paramedics and Police Officers were recognized
today by the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce. The
Twenty-First Annual Fire/Police Valors Awards Luncheon, held at Martin's
Crosswinds in Greenbelt, was attended by community and business leaders,
members of the Fire/EMS and Police Departments and friends and family of
the valor recipients.
The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department presented awards
in the following categories: 1 Special Achievement Award; 10 Bronze
Medals; 3 Silver Medals; 1 Gold Medal; and 1 Fire Fighter of the Year
Award.
The Gold Medal of Valor and Fire Fighter of the Year Award for
1997 was presented to Fire Technician James C. Almoney. On April 17,
1997, fire and EMS units were dispatched for a house fire in Beltsville.
The initial call was for smoke in the area. Fire Technician Almoney and
another firefighter arrived on the scene and confronted several franctic
citizens, including the parents of a child still trapped in the burning
house. Fire Technician Almoney donned his protective gear and ascended a
ladder that had been placed against the house by the citizens. Faced
with extreme fire, heat and smoke conditions, he entered the second
story window and began to search for the child. After searching the room
under intense heat conditions, he felt that the floor was becoming
unstable and could collapse. After sustaining burns to his legs,
shoulder and arm in his courageous attempt to rescue the child, Fire
Technician Almoney was forced to dive head first out of the window to
escape the unbearable heat. Fire Technician Almoney was the only
firefighter that was able to enter the second floor and attempt a
rescue. Although his efforts were valiant and he was injured in the
process, he was unable to save the child.
For his willingness to place the welfare of another above his
own and for extreme personal risk, zeal and professionalism, Fire
Technician James. C. Almoney was awarded the Gold Medal of Valor. And
also for his heoric actions and dedication to perform in the highest
tradition of the Fire/EMS service, Fire Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki took
great pride in naming Fire Technician James C. Almoney the Prince
George's County Fire Fighter of the Year for 1997.
George H. Linnell, BLS Quality Achievement Coordinator, was
presented the Fire Chief's Special Achievement Award for his "attention
to detal, professionalism, dedication and performance all above and
beyond what is normally expected of one person."
The Silver Medal of Valor was given to Volunteer Fire Fighter
Edward P. Scott (Kentland VFD -
http://www.fire-ems.net/firedept/view/LandoverMD) and the Bronze Medal
of Valor to Fire Fighter Paul S. Kilpatrick for their actions to rescue
a victim from a house fire in Chapel Oaks on November 21, 1997.
Volunteer Fire Chief Charles A. Ryan (Riverdale VFD -
http://www.riverdalevfd.org) was given the Silver Medal of Valor and
Volunteer Fire Lieutenant Marshall Davies (Hyattsville VFD -
http://www.hvfd.com) the Bronze Medal of Valor for their actions to
rescue a woman from the second floor of a burning house in Hyattsville
on August 23, 1997.
Fire Fighter Jeffrey A. Fisher was awarded the Silver Medal of
Valor and the Bronze Medal of Valor was presented to Fire Captain Steven
L. Hess, Fire Fighter Timoty J. Street and Fire Fighter Knowl W. Void
for their actions to rescue a man from a burning house in Chillum on
September 7, 1997.
The Bronze Medal of Valor was presented to Fire Captain Lisa E.
Dunaway, Fire Technician Gary R. Gibson and Fire Fighter Sharon L. Serpa
for their actions at an incident on December 10, 1997 during which they
removed a seriously injured elderly woman from a dangerous assault
situation.
Paramedics Larry J. Cohen and Robert C. Kight were presented the
Bronze Medal of Valor for their actions to save s atabbing victim in
Capitol Heights on February 10, 1997.
The full story on all the award winners is online at
http://www.pgfd.com/news/98awards.html. In addition to incident and
profile capules for each of the recipients, photos from the ceremony
will be added soon.
-end-
For more information on the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department,
please visit our web site at http://www.pgfd.com
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