"When a few, or one, or some, do not recognize that responsibility or perhaps fall short in exercising that responsibility, everyone in the community takes note," says Mayor Miner, who blocked police award.
Syracuse, NY – A hellish house fire 14 months ago at 713 Marcellus St. produced the dramatic rescues of a man and his grandson — and eight of the medals and citations given this morning to 19 Syracuse firefighters.
Medal of Honor winner Kevin Cox and Arthur Jenkins Award winner Eric Szentmiklosi, both firefighters, and the Francis Hendricks Medal winner, Lt. Frank Somers, all were cited during the Medal Awards Ceremony at the Palace Theatre for their actions that night.
Lt. Richard Talbot and Lt. Richard Buck received individual citations, firefighters Rodney Mattison and Joseph Skardinski won a team citation and Firefighter Joseph Difabio earned an EMS Level 1 award for their work at the April 20, 2009, blaze.
Eleven other firefighters won commendations for saving lives under trying circumstances and other labors above and beyond the call of duty.
The ceremony was to have included 20 police officers who were due to receive awards, a fact reflected on the greeting posted on the Palace’s marquee.
But the police – with the exception of Chief Frank Fowler and three of his top deputies – boycotted the observance after Mayor Stephanie Miner refused to sign the commendation that would give the coveted Wallie Howard Jr. Award to Detective Alp Llukaci. The detective had been found guilty by a federal jury of using excessive force against a suspect in a 2001 case.
Fowler declined to comment, but Miner, speaking to the media before the ceremony, said the chief was "comfortable with the decision." She then addressed the issue head-on as she took the podium to thank the honored firefighters and their families.
Being a police officer or firefighter accords privileges and confers additional responsibilities to those who don the badges, Miner said.
“It is that responsibility that weighs heavily on us all, because when a few, or one, or some, do not recognize that responsibility or perhaps fall short in exercising that responsibility, everyone in the community takes note,” Miner said.
“If we are indeed to be leaders and if we are indeed to continue the proud tradition that this community has, from the Sardinos to now Chief (Frank) Fowler, from our own Deputy Mayor (John) Cowin to our beloved (Fire) Chief (Mark) McLees, it is because we have been given an opportunity for a short period of time to prove to this community that we are indeed leaders and we understand the responsibility that goes along with occupying the offices that we have,” she said.
The firefighters being honored and the police who were to have been honored “just didn’t put on a badge in the morning or in the evening. They went above and beyond any expectation that anyone could have set for them,” Miner said.
The Marcellus Street fire “was as challenging as it gets,” First Deputy Chief Charles Duffy said. Heavy flame and smoke confronted firefighters and mounds of trash blocked efforts to reach victims trapped inside.
Mattison and Skardinski won their team citation for heaving bicycles, bed frames, bags of bottles and other debris out of the way. Cox and Szentmiklosi (pronounced Saint-mi-CLOSE-ee) crawled through the passage they created to reach the grandfather. Somers, meanwhile, entered the home through a window wreathed in flame and smoke and helped Cox and Szentmiklosi get the victim out the window. Szentmiklosi continued searching and found the child.
Cox said he swallowed his fear in part by thinking about the trapped man.
“I was thinking someone loves this guy, that he has family,” Cox said. “My job is to save that.”
Difabio won his award for his efforts to resuscitate the grandfather and grandson. Physicians who treated the boy later credited Difabio for the child’s subsequent full recovery.
Talbot, a truck officer whose team was to provide roof ventilation, deployed it instead toward the rescue effort while he and a driver worked on ventilating the building. He then helped rescuers save the grandfather. Buck, the rescue officer, won for his supervision of the rescue and first-aid teams.
View full sizeSyracuse firefighters who received EMS awards at the 2010 Medal Awards Program, include, from left, Paul Cousins, Mike Monds, Sara Errington, and John Burns. Other winners included:
Firefighter Joseph Gonzalski III, who won the Fire Chief’s Medal for his dedication to the profession and his fellow firefighters.
Firefighter Adam Smith, who won the Mayor’s Medal for his attempt to save the life of a motorcyclist injured in an accident that he encountered while traveling in Guilderland.
Lt. Lee Eckl, who won the Syracuse Officers Association Medal of Valor for his rescue Oct. 1. of a firefighter whose air supply had run out while searching a smoky attic at 3009 S. Salina St.
Eckl also won an EMS Level One Award with firefighters Erin McLaughlin, Richard Buck and Paul Haynes for their work on March 18, 2009, to save the life of a 52-year-old man who was in full cardiac arrest.
Lt. Kelvin Chambers and Firefighter Timothy Visser, who won an EMS Level One Award for saving a man found lying on the street without a heartbeat or pulse on Sept. 10. The duo used CPR and a defibrillator on the patient.
Lt. Paul Cousins and firefighters Michael Monds, Sara Errington and John Burns for saving a man found without breath or pulse after he fell out of his wheelchair on a busy downtown street.