Firefighter II

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

2/10/2014

Special Service Award (Silver)

On February 10, 2014, at approximately 7:00 p.m., California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Firefighter II Emilio Valencia and another Firefighter were responding to a medical call. While en route, they were advised that the call was a residential structure fire. When the firefighters arrived, the emergency crews on scene told them that someone had run back into the building and they could hear screams for help. Firefighter Valencia could hear the calls for help coming from inside the home, so he put on his safety gear and entered the home alone with the fire hose attack line. The fire was growing in intensity, with heavy fire and smoke moving from the rear of the building towards the front. Because conditions in the home were deteriorating quickly and it was difficult to extend the hose and pull it around objects and walls by himself, Firefighter Valencia decided to continue the search without the hose line. He could hear the cries getting louder as he got closer to the victim. He made his way down a hallway and into a small room where he found a man lying on the ground in a fetal position. Firefighter Valencia reassured the victim he was there to help, but, when he began to pull the man to safety, the man started panicking and resisting his efforts. Exposed to the full heat of the fire and heavy smoke which hampered visibility, Firefighter Valencia managed to maintain control of the struggling victim and pull him out the front door to the lawn. Firefighter Valencia transferred care of the victim to paramedics and began searching for a second victim. After all residents were accounted for, the crew concentrated putting out the fire. The victim was treated for burns and smoke inhalation on scene, transported by ambulance to a landing zone, and then flown by helicopter to a trauma and burn center.