Hilton Fire Department receives
the Rochester Safety Council Gold Seal Award

Heroic efforts recognized

On October 6, nineteen members of the Hilton Fire Department attended the Rochester Safety Council Annual Fire Service Luncheon. At this luncheon, the department was awarded the Gold Seal Award by the Rochester Safety Council. This award is presented each year to an individual or department that has risked their life to save another life. The Hilton Fire Department was given this award for their efforts at a fire on January 30, 2000 at 80 Parkwood Lane.

On that cold, winter night at 1:49 a.m., the department received a call from 84 Parkwood Lane for smoke in the living room. Three minutes after the first officer arrived on location he found heavy smoke coming from the scene. He also noticed a woman inside the second floor window and was able to communicate with her. She said that there were also two children inside at the base of the window. The officer notified the first pumper of the location of the fire and that there were three people trapped. When the pumper arrived on location, the six crew members went into action. Three members set up a ladder to the bedroom window where the victims were located, while two others began to advance a hoseline to the front door for fire attack. The driver set up the pump operation for the advancing hoseline. When the ladder was in place, the officer from the pumper climbed to the top and was handed a lifeless seven-year-old girl by the mother. He proceeded down the ladder to hand the victim to an awaiting firefighter. He returned up the ladder and was handed a lifeless five-year-old boy. Again, he descended the ladder to hand off the second victim to another firefighter. The officer returned up the ladder a last time to remove the third victim. This last victim was not easily removed as she was attempting to go find the family pets first. The officer had to restrain her and convince her to come out the window and down the ladder with him.

While the last rescue was underway, additional firefighters at the scene were already in the process of resuscitating the two children. They had to improvise as they did not have all the necessary equipment initially available. They were resuscitating the two children on the back of the pumper and the tailgate of the deputy chief's personal vehicle while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

At the same time, the fire attack crew was advancing through the townhouse to fight the fire. They found a basement fire and were able to quickly knock it down. Other firefighters were evacuating the connecting townhouses because of the uncertainty of the extent of the fire.

When the ambulance arrived, the children were quickly transferred to it for further treatment. Both children were breathing on their own before the ambulance left to transport them to the hospital, a fact that can be contributed to the prompt emergency care they received by both the firefighters and medics on the ambulance. All three victims were released from the hospital only six hours after they arrived.

The fire department encountered many obstacles that night, including fire hydrants buried in snow, a frozen hydrant and an illegally parked car which made it very difficult to gain access down the street. Even with the obstacles they faced, the department was still able to save three lives and quickly knock down the fire before it spread to surrounding townhouses.

For these efforts, the Rochester Safety Council found them worthy of the Gold Seal Award. The award was presented to the Hilton Fire Department by County Executive Jack Doyle and Rochester Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Carlson.

The Hilton Fire Department is honored to receive such a prestigious award, according to Fire Chief Mark Kalen. They feel their commitment to training and the team effort they displayed at this call played the most significant roles in the overall success of the call. With that commitment to training and dedication to public safety, the department is able to provide their community with the best possible service