ABOVE & BEYOND

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)

PERTH AMBOY — Five Firefighters were commended at the City Council’s last

meeting for action above-and-beyond the call-of-duty in three separate

incidents.

Each Firefighter was presented with a framed Proclamation and a framed Coun

cil Resolution by Mayor Wilda Diaz and Fire Chief David Volk.

At 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 7, Engine No. 1, with Firefighters John DeNardo and

Eric Wilhelm, was driving on Smith Street when they witnessed a vehicle

driving erratically proceeding west on Smith Street. The vehicle ran-through the

red-light at Smith and Oak Streets, running-into a parked vehicle.

After approaching the vehicle, the Firefighters found an unconscious male

driver in the locked vehicle. After requesting EMS Assistance, DeNardo and

Wilhelm broke a rear window on the vehicle to gain access to the elderly male,

whom they found to be in full cardiac-arrest.

After securing the still-running vehicle, DeNardo and Wilhelm removed the

driver, initiated CPR, and connected a defibrillator unit. Upon arrival of

the Paramedics & EMS Unit from Raritan Bay Medical Center, they assisted

those units with further patient care and eventual transportation to the

hospital.

Although the patient unfortunately passed-away after being admitted to the

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) later that morning, the actions taken by the

Firefighters were credited with reviving the driver of the vehicle and preserving

his life, providing the opportunity of receiving advanced care within RBMC.

Had these two not acted in the timely-manner that they did, all available

means of saving his life would not have been able to be undertaken.

Firefighter Eric Wilhelm has been a member of the Career Division since

Jan. 16, 1995, and Firefighter John DeNardo has been a member of the Career Divi

sion since Feb. 23, 1996.

At 2:09 a.m. on Oct. 22, the Fire and Police Departments and Paramedics &

EMS Unit from RBMC were dispatched to a reported truck fire on Route 440 at

Amboy Avenue.

Upon arrival, members found a tractor-trailer adjacent to the eastbound

entrance ramp of the highway from Amboy Avenue and Grove Street fully-involved

in fire.

After setting-up initial extinguishing operations on the truck, members

were made-aware of a second motor vehicle about 300 feet west, under the Amboy

Avenue overpass, with an unconscious male driver.

While firefighters continued extinguishing the truck fire; Lt. Edward

Mullen and Firefighter Eric Kayser approached the second vehicle, along with RBMC

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) Gary Batista and Matt Redding, to

extricate and treat the unconscious male occupant from the severely-damaged

vehicle.

As these members arrived at the vehicle, a mixture of diesel fuel and water

from the burning tractor-trailer ignited and began flowing down the

shoulder of the highway toward the vehicle and emergency responders.

Faced with a seriously-dangerous situation for not only the trapped vehicle

occupant, but also their own safety, Lt. Mullen and Firefighter Kayser

utilized a fire extinguisher and dry absorbent in an attempt to prevent the

quickly-advancing fire from reaching the vehicle.

At the same time, EMTs Batista and Redding, through physical force and

sheer determination, were able to gain-access to the passenger-compartment of

the vehicle and extricate the driver, who was partially-entrapped under the

dashboard.

Less than a minute after the members were able to move the victim away from

the vehicle, it became totally-engulfed in flames.

The victim was treated by EMS and transported to Robert Wood Johnson

University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was admitted with

non-life-threatening injuries.

After the removal of the victim, the Department continued to be faced with

a serious situation, where there were now two vehicles fully-involved in

fire, with the possibility of the burning fuel continuing westerly on the

shoulder towards stopped highway traffic and a catch-basin. With the assistance

of a foam unit operated by the Port Authority Police Department, the flowing

flammable liquid was rapidly-extinguished by members of the Department

before any additional damage or adverse impact to the storm-sewer system and

environment occurred.

Had it not been for the extraordinary and heroic actions of the emergency

responders, there certainly would have been one if not two fatalities as a

result of this accident. The entire contingent of emergency responders that

responded to this incident are to be commended for their actions. Emergency

responders, including the Fire Department, under the Command of Capt. Abraham

Pitre, Port Authority Police, Perth Amboy Police and Paramedics & EMS Unit

from RBMC insured that this extremely-serious incident was brought to a

successful conclusion with no loss of life and no injuries other than to the

drivers of both vehicles.

Lt. Edward Mullen has been a member of the Career Division since April 22,

2002 He was promoted to Lieutenant on June 11, 2010, and Firefighter Eric

Kayser has been a member of the Career Division since Sept. 14, 2004.

On Oct. 23, Volunteer Lieutenant/Training Officer Anton Massopust Jr. was

attending a church dinner at the Ukrainian Assumption Parish, Jacques Street.

During the event, a gentleman in-attendance went into cardiac-arrest.

Lt. Massopust went to his aid and found him to be in full cardiac-arrest,

breathless, and with no pulse. Lt. Massopust immediately initiated CPR on the

victim while 9-1-1 was being called for advanced medical assistance. Upon

arrival of members of the Fire Department and Paramedics & EMS Unit from

RBMC, the victim had regained a pulse and his breathing function. The victim

was placed on oxygen and transported to RBMC for further treatment.

Since then, the patient has fully-recovered and was in fact discharged from

RBMC on Oct. 26.

Had it not been for the quick life-saving actions of Lt. Massopust within a

minute of the gentleman entering into cardiac-arrest, the successful

outcome of this incident most-assuredly would have been quite different.

Lt. Anton Massopust Jr. has been a member of the Volunteer Division for

over 40 years, having previously served as Volunteer Chief of the Department

from 1986 to 1987. He is currently a state-certified EMT instructor, as well

as a CPR Instructor certified by both the American Heart Association and the

American Red Cross.