The Philadelphia Fire Department promoted 7 civilian and 46 uniformed members at an event held Sept. 21 at Temple University’s Performing Arts Center.
The semi-annual Promotion & Awards Ceremony included the posthumous promotion of Lt. Benny Hutchins, who died in service to the city earlier this year. In addition, the PFD honored many civilians, uniformed members and fire companies with awards for heroism, letters of commendation and other citations.
HEROISM AWARD
Firefighter Alonso Kinnard, for rescuing an occupant of a burning home last year in Northwest Philadelphia despite extreme heat and smoke, and without the protection of a charged hose line.
MERIT AWARDS
- Capt. Josh McGuoirk, Firefighter Joseph Sharkey, Firefighter Oliver McDonagh, Firefighter John Cancelliere and Firefighter Mark Jacoby, for teaming up to rescue a missing firefighter during a house fire in Frankford in 2016.
- Lt. Alan Westfield, for saving a man last year in Northeast Philly who was in danger of electrocution and threatening self-harm.
- Firefighter Oliver McDonagh, for rescuing a man trapped in a storm drain in North Philadelphia in 2016.
LETTERS OF COMMENDATION
- Police Officer Brian Myers, Joseph Leone and Michael Gambon, for working together earlier this year to save a child who had become trapped under a car in Mayfair.
- Greg Sadowski and Andrew Pustelniak, for raising a ladder to the 2nd floor of a burning home in Northwest Philly last year, thus enabling you to rescue two occupants.
- Firefighter Corey Hullings, for initiating CPR on a runner who collapsed during a road race in which Hullings was participating while off-duty.
LETTERS OF APPRECIATION
- Paramedic Lt. Anthony Adams, Paramedic Lt. Manuel Cartagena, Paramedic Kellylynn Tyre, EMT Rachael Schortye, EMT Brittany Cooper-Williams and EMT Tammy Lewis, for helping to extricate, treat and transport a civilian who had been trapped in a city storm sewer in 2016.
- Temple University Hospital, Albert Einstein Medical Center and Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, for the tireless and dedicated services their staffs have provided during our greatest times of need.
- Club Valiants, Spanish-American Professional Firefighters Association, Local 22 and the Philadelphia Fire Department Foundation, for their sponsorship of the Lt. Joyce M. Craig Fire Safety Summer Camps in 2017.
- William Twardzik, Orlando Almonte, Ryan Coffman and Evan Thornburg, for lending their expertise to the PFD’s professional development program in their respective fields: Americans with Disabilities Act/equal employment training; language access; smoking cessation; and LGBTQ awareness.
UNIT CITATIONS
E.07, E.12, E.19, E.29, E.44, E.50, E.52, E.54, E.55, E.56, E.59, E.64, E.66, E.70, Squad 72, L.10, L.12, L.15, L.16, L.18, L.21, L.22, L.25, L.28, L.30, Rescue 1, Medic 39, Medic 48, ES-8, Battalion 8, Battalion 9, 2nd Alarmers and the Fire Communications Center.
RICHARD A. BAILEY / FIRE CODE OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Captain Andrew Brown, for his work with the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force to educate the public about how hoarding endangers residents, firefighters and EMS providers.
ALBERT H. REDLES COMMUNITY OUTREACH AWARD
Chiefs of Battalion 2, for overseeing the effort to install more than 2,000 smoke alarms over the past year.
T. SEDDON DUKE AWARD
Captain Scott Crawford, for leading Engine (Water Tower) 57 to install more than 600 smoke alarms in the past year, outperforming every other company.
JOSEPH FLORES AWARD
Charles W. Horton Jr., whose leadership at the Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities has helped the PFD connect with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and install adaptive smoke alarms.
CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chief Dispatcher Kelly Collins, for her leadership and expertise at the Fire Communications Center, ensuring Philadelphians are only a phone call away from an emergency service provider.
CITIZEN APPRECIATION AWARD
Harvey Figgs (posthumous), for his service to the city on June 5, 2013, when he worked to clear debris from the collapse of the Salvation Army Thrift Store and thus helped PFD members rescue those who were trapped.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AWARD
Temple University, for its generosity in allowing the PFD to use the school’s Performing Arts Center for its semi-annual Promotion & Awards ceremonies.
MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD
Deputy Chief Charles LePre, for 55 years of dedicated service to the PFD and the city of Philadelphia.
POSTHUMOUS PROMOTION
Fire Lieutenant Benny Hutchins to Fire Captain
PROMOTIONS
- Inventory Control Technician Kathleen Masgai
- Fire Equipment Dispatch Supervisor Solomon Massele
- Accountant Trainee LaQuatta Jordan
- Fiscal Officer Marguerite Morgan
- Budget Officer Lynette Burgess
- Administrative Assistant Gamilia Marshall
- Administrative Technician Nuriyah Jordan
Deputy Chief to Assistant Chief
- Richard Davison
- Harry Bannan
- Robert Wilkins
- Anthony Sneidar
Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief
- Kevin Ewing
- Jeffrey Thompson
- Girten Allerton
- Michael Richey
- Francis Hannan
Fire Captain to Battalion Chief
- Anthony Bompadre
- Christopher Beale
- Peter Garvin
- Daniel Cowden
- Anne Marie Lewandowski
- John McGuire
- William Dixon
Fire Lieutenant to Fire Captain
- John Pendergast
- Kyle Wehmeyer
- Devon Richio
- Paul Grevy
- Jeffrey DeWald
- Thomas Hair
- Sean Needham
- Gene Luckey
- Gary Taylor Jr.
- Jeffrey Beatrice
Firefighter to Fire Lieutenant
- Shaun O’Malley
- Kevin Donahue
- Nicholas Kurowski
- Michael Browne
- Daniel Roache
- Luis Contreras
- Colleen Browne
- Joseph Holt
- Thomas Walsh
- William Tung
- Benjamin Bardo
- Timothy DiNardo
- Corey Hullings
- Gregory Mazzone
- Matthew Costello
- David Tucker
- Shawn Glynn
- Edward Leemon
Fire Service Paramedic to Fire Paramedic Lieutenant
- Dawn Jones
- Joshua Albasi
