Mid Hudson Times May 02 2018 | Page 3

3 Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, May 2, 2018 City firemen recognized for bravery By SHANTAL RILEY [email protected] A train derailment. A rescue from the icy water of Muchattoes Lake. A toxic chemical fire. These were just some of the calls handled by City of Newburgh firefighters last year. The firefighters were honored at an awards ceremony, held at Newburgh City Hall this month. About a dozen or so firefighters were recognized with citations and awards for heroic actions taken in the line of duty. “Thank you for what you do,” Orange County Deputy Commissioner of Fire Services Vini Tankasali said to the gathered firefighters. “I know a lot of you will say, ‘We don’t need a thank you. This is what we do. This is what our job is.’ But, what you guys do and… what you’ve done makes the rest of us firefighters throughout the county, throughout the state, proud of what we do.” Several harrowing incidents were recounted at the ceremony. One involved the rescue of a man who fell through the ice atop Muchattoes Lake on a frigid day in February. “Both men made their way out to the victim,” explained city Assistant Fire Chief Ed Petricek. “The person being rescued from the near-freezing water was in a great deal of distress at the time.” By the time he was brought back to shore, he was drifting in and out of consciousness, Petricek said. He was transported to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital where he eventually recovered. Firefighters Joseph Bedetti and Jordan Cichy were both nominated with the Life Saving Award for their actions at the lake. In one very disturbing incident, city firefighters responded to a man who had set fire to himself at the Citgo gas station on Broadway. City firefighters also rescued victims in car accidents, used Narcan to revive people from drug overdoses and helped to avert catastrophe when a train carrying sulfuric acid and other hazardous materials derailed along the CSX rail line at the Newburgh-New Windsor border. But, the Verla International cosmetics plant fire turned deadly when, on November 20, an explosion ignited a chemical fire that took the life of one plant employee and injured about 30 others, including eight city fire fighters. “As they walked into a building an explosion erupted, instantly engulfing the four members of a search team in a wall of fire,” Chuck Schumer’s Regional Director Allison Biasotti read from a letter written From left: (Front row) Firefighters Marquis Taylor and Jose Palomino; (Back row) Assistant Chief Edward Petricek, Acting Fire Chief Terry Ahlers, Lt. Brendan Hogan, Asst. Chief Bill Horton, firefighter Christopher O’Dell, Lt. Dan Rhode, firefighter Levi Miles, Lt. Joseph LoCicero, firefighter Joseph Bedetti and Capt. Matthew Moriello. by the senator. A search rope they were using quickly burned through, leaving firefighters Nicholas Bedetti and Anu Flippin trapped and completely separated from their crew. Their rescue was a tale of “real-life superheroes,” Schumer wrote. Firefighters initiated a search for the trapped firemen, operating in an “unstable environment,” Ahlers said, “with unknown conditions, zero visibility, with barrels of acetone and alcohol surrounding them.” Eventually, Bedetti found a hole in an exterior wall that was caused by the explosion and he began to climb out. But, Bedetti soon found “he had nothing left to climb,” Ahlers said. “Flippin then pushed and lifted Bedetti the rest of the way…” the fire chief said. “Fireman Bedetti stayed long enough to reach down and pull Flippin out the exterior opening.” Flippin and Bedetti’s actions, pushing and pulling each other up and out of the opening of the wall, were courageous and heroic,” Ahlers asserted. “There is no doubt in my mind they saved each other’s lives.” The crew of Engi ne#1 were issued unit citations for their actions that day. Bedetti and Flippin were both bestowed the Medal of Valor. About two dozen others citations and awards were given out during the ceremony. City of Newburgh firefighters respond to an average of 3,000 calls each year, Ahlers said. A third are made up of alarms, fires and building gas leaks. Another third come in as rescue calls and outdoor fires, he said. 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