N.H. Firefighters, Medics Honored for Dramatic Rescues
Sept. 30--CONCORD -- The Dover Fire Department was honored with a Unit Citation during the 23rd Annual Fire Service and Emergency Medical Services Awards ceremony Monday evening.
Also at the ceremony, a Rye firefighter received a Medal of Valor for saving a fellow firefighter from the USS Miami when it was destroyed in a spectacular fire in 2012.
Dover firefighters and paramedics were recognized for their efforts on June 6, 2013. Early that morning, they made a dramatic rescue on the second floor of a fiercely burning condo unit at 31 Cushing St. Inside was Maci Leighton, a Dover High School student who was 16 years old at the time.
Upon arrival, Dover crews found heavy fire on the first floor, left-hand unit of a four-unit building and confirmed the teen was trapped inside. Maci was the only occupant in the unit at the time.
Maci was on hand for the ceremony and helped give out awards to 11 members of the Fire Department who were instrumental in her rescue. Leighton said a representative of the department contacted her father, Doug, and asked if she could be there. Leighton and her mother, Lisa, said they would not miss this ceremony for the world.
After the awards were presented, Chief Richard Driscoll said the recognition is a great honor.
"They faced adverse conditions on that night, but we successfully rescued Maci from the building," Driscoll said of the crews that responded. "It all boiled down to teamwork."
Driscoll explained there was an extreme amount of heat in the hallway and rescuers had to crawl down to get to Leighton.
Also during the ceremony, Lt. Charles Gallant of the Rye Fire Department was awarded the Paul W. Sypek Medal of Valor. This award is the highest level award that is distributed for bravery at extreme risk of life. It is given to those who go above and beyond the call of duty in an effort to protect and save others.
Gallant saved the life of Rye firefighter Scott Hirtle on May 23, 2012, after a person set fire to the USS Miami while it was undergoing an overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Operating a hose line, Gallant, Hirtle and two members of the ship's crew moved toward the bow of the submarine when a flashover occurred. As the heat caused evacuation of the compartment, Gallant was not sure Hirtle had made it out. He searched through blind smoke and in tremendous heat until he found Hirtle collapsed from heat exhaustion and suffering from burns.
Members of the Hampton Fire Department were also honored for their hard work in saving two men who became stranded while fishing. Antonio Maggio, an EMT in Barrington, was presented with an Emergency Medical Service achievement award for his dedication to the profession.
Gov. Maggie Hassan, who was joined by a group of dignitaries on stage for the awards ceremony, said recipients courageously rush into dangerous situations to help complete strangers in need.
"It is not just that you put your life on the line, but it is the way you do it that amazes me," Hassan said. "The fact that you put your lives on the line for people you don't even know says more about the character of our democracy, our state and our country, than words ever can."
The awards program was started in 1987, funded by a bequest from the estate of Paul W. Sypek, a communications operator in the Concord Fire Department, who felt that many acts of heroism beyond the call of duty were going unrecognized in the Granite State. Since its inception, the program has been administered under the auspices of the Bureau of Fire Standards and Training.
Copyright 2014 - Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.
