New York State Honorary Fire Chiefs Association Medal
New York City Medal Day 2000
Firefighter Stephen P. Fenley
Ladder Company 78
August 2, 1999, 0306 hours, Box 22-229,
190 Bay Street, Staten Island
Appointed to the FDNY on July 11, 1981. Previously assigned to Ladders 9, 80, 101 and 148 and Rescue 5. Member of the Emerald and Holy Name Societies and the Columbia Association. Cited for bravery on five previous occasions. Holds an AA degree and also is a Paramedic. Uncle, Irv Bolger, is retired from the job and two cousins, Gary Bolger and Jack Thompson, are on the job. Resides in Staten Island, with his wife, Michelle, and their son, William, 10, and daughter, Danielle, 6.
Another month had begun in a long, hot summer for the members of Ladder 78 and Engine 155 on the North Shore of Staten Island. Firefighter Stephen Fenley was working an average night tour on August 1, 1999. The Brothers had several routine runs and a good meal behind them by midnight and the neighborhood seemed to have quieted down. However, there was a hatred fomenting that would turn to murder shortly after three in the morning on August 2nd.
A flammable liquid was spread throughout the interior stairway of 190 Bay Street and the fire was released on the sleeping residents. At 0306 hours, the computer at the Brighton Avenue firehouse spit out a phone alarm for a fire at the address. As the rigs were pulling out of quarters, the dispatcher assured them that from the volume of calls they were receiving, there was a working fire in progress and police were at the scene.
The short distance from quarters made it a fast response for both companies. As they pulled up to the three-story, non-fireproof, multiple dwelling, there was heavy smoke spewing from every window and a raging inferno in the interior stairway. The other vehicles already on the scene made it difficult to place the apparatus near the fire building.
FF Steve Fenley had the roof man position. As he was helping the chauffeur position the aerial ladder to the roof, a victim in great distress appeared at the third-floor window. There were no fire escapes on the building and the flames in the hallway blocked the victim’s exit as well as the entry of the inside attack team. Someone had to reach him.
Engine 155 was able to charge a line and advanced somewhat into the hallway, but a new problem soon became evident. FF Fenley heard his officer, Lieutenant Matthew Cichminski, report to Battalion 21 that the interior stairs had been burned away from the second to the third floor. This meant that an interior rescue advanced from a degree of difficult to impossible.
As FF James Marshall repositioned the ladder to the front window, FF Fenley informed his officer that roof operations would be delayed for an exterior rescue. The victim was visible in the billowing smoke only because his clothing already had caught fire. As the firefighter climbed the ladder toward the victim, the victim collapsed back into the thick, acrid smoke belching from the window, an indication that flashover was imminent. With complete disreNYSHFCA.ORG – NYS FIRE CHIEFS AWARDSgard for his own safety, FF Fenley dove headfirst into the window and was pushed to the floor by the high heat condition in the room.
Sixty-one-year-old Carl Pandolfo had fallen away from the window, making it hard for FF Fenley to locate him quickly. As the firefighter tried to pull Mr. Pandolfo toward the window, the burnt skin falling from his body made it difficult to get a secure grip. Eventually, his removal required that FF Fenley throw him over his shoulder and stand up in order to get him out the window.
FF Fenley didn’t hesitate when his helmet and safety hood were dislodged as he headed out the window. The predicted flashover occurred as the rescuer placed Mr. Pandolfo on the aerial ladder. FF Fenley suffered burns to the back of his head, face and ears. Despite his own burns and other injuries, he covered the badly burned man from the flames licking out the window as FF Marshall repositioned the ladder.
Once the chauffeur positioned them away from the fire that now was consuming the entire top floor, FF Fenley descended the ladder as Mr. Pandolfo clung to the last vestiges of his life. He was removed to the burn center of Staten Island University North with second- and third-degree burns on 100 percent of his body. Despite FF Fenley’s valiant efforts and constant medical attention, Mr. Pandolfo succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
The explosion of flames on the top floor mandated the removal of all firefighting forces and an exterior operation was used to extinguish the inferno. Once the two-alarm blaze had been brought under control, two more bodies were discovered inside and the murder toll was increased to three.
For his bravery and courage in putting his own life at great personal risk to try to save another, the Fire Department is proud to honor FF Stephen P. Fenley.–JT