Various members of the Reading Fire Department received awards and commendations at Monday night’s Reading City Council meeting.
Around 1:30am on October 7, 2013, 16 members of the fire department responded to a dwelling fire at 718 Ritter Street in Reading.
The fire started as a result of unattended cooking, with flames taking over the first-floor kitchen and dining room and smoke spreading through all three floors of the row home.
Christine Reynolds-Kramer, 61, was trapped and unconscious on the second floor of the home.
Fire fighter Steven Ginder was the first to enter the home and to reach Reynolds-Kramer.
Ginder and Justin Auker were able to remove her from the building. Both men received a Medal of Merit for acting in “the highest tradition of the fire service.”
Lieutenant Thomas Rehr, Patrick Griffin and Ronald Fry received Unit Citation awards for their assistance in getting Reynolds-Kramer down the stairs and out of the building to safety.
Anthony Flowers also received a Unit Citation award for his actions to control and extinguish the fire, protecting the stairway and allowing the others to reach Reynolds-Kramer.
EMS Unit Citation awards were presented to the paramedics team that was able to revive and treat the victim on the scene: Lieutenant Scott Weitzel, Nik Knauer, Mike Grow, Tim O’Brien and Jeremy Grove all received awards.
Thanks to the actions of the fire suppression and EMS teams, no one else was hurt and the fire was extinguished in less than 40 minutes.
The response team was even able to save six cats using their animal oxygen masks.
Unfortunately 14 other cats, two large birds and one dog were killed in the fire. Damage to the property was estimated at $25,000 to $30,000.
Fire Chief William Stoudt Jr. commended the actions of his department, and thanked them for their willingness to do an often thankless job.
"On the average day the actions of these members and the lives they save go largely unnoticed, except by those whose lives they saved, and their coworkers," Stoudt said.
Mayor Vaughn Spencer acknowledged the fire department as an asset to the city.
“We are very proud of the men and women that serve in the Reading Fire Department, who respond to the call and put themselves in harms’ way when a lot of people would go the other way.” Spencer said.
“I am thrilled to be able to award these gentlemen and give them the recognition they deserve.”
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/14tqz6L
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire