Kevin Stewart, Milton Smith and Dan O'Keeffe  recommendation for OCVFA Fire Fighter of the Year 2007

At approximately 4:30am on the morning of December 16, 2007 our department was dispatched to a reported structure fire at 27 Cedar Trail, in the Mountain Lodge Park section of our district.  At the time of this call the area was being hit by a major storm which had already dumped three to four inches of snow and ice which made driving conditions extremely hazardous and slow.

The first unit to arrive on scene was Rescue 559 commanded by Lieutenant Brian Vincent and his crew consisting of Firefighter’s Kevin Stewart, Milton Smith and Joe Lowden.  Upon their arrival, Lieutenant Vincent was confronted not only with a working structure fire but with frantic parents from the residence, who had barely escaped their home with their five children, all of whom were outside in the elements.

The crew of Rescue 559 was faced with several important decisions to take action on before firefighting could take place.  The frantic parents immediately advised them that three of their children were burned and unconscious.  The crew immediately took action and rushed to relocate the unconscious victims away from the extreme heat emanating from the now involved structure fire.  Firefighter Dan O’Keeffe, who responded directly to the scene from his home, teamed up with Firefighter’s Kevin Stewart and Milton Smith and immediately began medical care to successfully resuscitate the children after they were moved away from the structure.

While I was en-route to the scene, Lieutenant Vincent advised me by radio that EMS was needed at the scene and we had a working fire to transmit a second alarm.  Before AI arrived on scene those requests to 36 Control (dispatch) were made.  When I arrived on scene, I established command and Lieutenant Vincent immediately briefed me that we had three burned and unconscious children and needed immediate medical care.  I made a second request for additional ALS units and reported that we had numerous patients.  At this time, other units began to arrive on scene with additional O2 (oxygen bottles) and manpower.

When the Paramedic from Blooming Grove arrived on scene the decision was made to relocate the patients out of the elements and into a neighbor’s house for triage.  Firefighters’s Stewart, Smith and O’Keeffe help with this move and continue to care for the patients until they were relieved by medical personal.  EMS command was established and all seven family members were triaged and transported to the Arden Hill Hospital.

Our Department was faced with many challenges that morning and every member that responded did an extraordinary job and is commended for their professionalism in a Job Well Done.

With that said, I believe the successful initial actions of the providing EMS care by Firefighter’s Stewart, Smith and O’Keeffe are a direct result as to why those three children who were seriously injured that night are alive and well today.  For this reason, I am submitting these Firefighter’s for the “2007 Orange County Firefighter of the Year Award”.