James Gordon Bennett Medal
NYS Honorary Fire Chiefs Association Medal 2005
NYSHFCA.ORG – NYS FIRE CHIEFS AWARDSFirefighter Victor J. Rosa Jr., Ladder Company 138
December 15, 2004, 0244 hours, Box 22-7889, 37-52 89th Street, Queens
Appointed to the FDNY on October 19, 1997. Previously assigned to Engines 83 and 293. Uncle, FF George Frey, is retired from Engine 311. Recipient of a pre-hospital CFR-D save; and a Class II rating for this incident. Resides in Massapequa Park, Long Island, with his wife, Melina, and their sons, Victor and Dean.
A rescue is a rare occurrence. How uncommon, then, is it to rescue three victims, especially while operating in dire conditions? Indeed, FDNY members were confronted with 17 critically and seriously injured victims at Queens Box 22-7889 and FF Victor J. Rosa had a direct hand in rescuing three of them.
On December 15, 2004, a cold fall night, at 0244 hours, calls started to come in reporting a fire at 35-43 88th Street in Jackson Heights. The assigned companies initially went to that address, but it was incorrect. The fire actually was in a six-story multiple dwelling at 37-52 89th Street. The fire was started by an unattended candle and exacerbated when the occupants left the apartment door open while exiting. The fire started in apartment 2F on the second floor, involved the apartment and extended out into the public hallway.
Ladder Co. 138, the “Corona Tigers, arrived as the second-due truck, with FF Rosa assigned the outside vent position for the tour. As the OVM, FF Rosa knew he had to get to his position quickly. This was a difficult task. Impeded by a garage in the adjacent yard, he placed a 24-foot portable ladder just to the left of the third-floor window of apartment 3G on the exposure #4 side of the building. A woman was visible at this window and she was calling for help.
Apartment 3G was adjacent to apartment 3F, which was directly above the fire apartment. As FF Rosa climbed into apartment 3G, he told the woman to wait by the window because another Firefighter, FF Steve Muller, Ladder 138’s chauffeur, was climbing up and would help her down. FF Rosa proceeded to exit the apartment, which was relatively clear, and entered the third-floor hallway, which had completely different conditions.
Entering the hallway, FF Rosa immediately was forced down onto the floor by the very high heat and heavy smoke. The fire on the floor below, the second floor, had extended beyond the chocked-open smoke/fire door in the middle of the public hallway. With the fire this far into the hallway, it was also extending up the stairs immediately adjacent to FF Rosa’s position.
As FF Rosa was searching in this severely exposed position, he discovered Lena Martinez, an unconscious and badly burned woman. FF Rosa transmitted a 10-45 and dragged Ms. Martinez into the safety of apartment 3G. Once she was in the apartment, FF Rosa then entered the hostile conditions in the hallway for a second time to continue his search.
While searching, FF Rosa found a second unconscious and badly burned female, 36-year-old Flora Pineda. The Firefighter again transmitted a 10-45 signal and dragged the victim into apartment 3G. Once the victim was safely in the apartment, FF Rosa entered the hallway for a third time to continue his search in the hot, smoky and dark environment.
At this time, FF Rosa was still working alone and a hand-line was not yet in position to put water on the extending fire. As FF Rosa resumed his search, with the fire advancing up the stairs only a few feet from him, he came across the unconscious body of four-year-old Alexandra Sandovar. FF Rosa picked up the young child and crawled down the hallway past the first stairwell–which was filled with fire–hoping to find a second stairwell. He found the second stairwell in this building with wing stairs and removed the girl to the street. She then was transported to the Cornell Burn Center.
The two victims FF Rosa previously had dragged into apartment 3G were removed by other Firefighters. FF Muller removed one victim via a portable ladder and a member of Squad Co. 288 removed the other victim through the interior.
For his courageous and determined actions in entering the hallway three times and discovering and removing three victims–two of whom survived their ordeal–FF Victor J. Rosa is officially recognized for his heroic efforts today. He is awarded the James Gordon Bennett Medal and the New York State Honorary Fire Chiefs Association Medal.—NG