Carnegie Medals awarded to 20 for extraordinary acts of heroism

Posted on by Carnegie Hero Fund

PITTSBURGH, PA, June 29, 2011 — In its second award announcement of 2011, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission today named 20 individuals from throughout the United States and Canada as recipients of the CARNEGIE MEDAL. The medal is given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. Six of the awardees died in the performance of their heroic acts.

The heroes announced today bring to 40 the number of awards made to date in 2011 and to 9,452 the total number of awards since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904. Commission President Mark Laskow stated that each of the awardees or their next of kin will also receive a financial grant. Throughout the 107 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $33.4 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

Resumes of the acts follow. To nominate someone for the CARNEGIE MEDAL, write the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 436 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, or call 1-800-447-8900 (toll free). Fuller information on the CARNEGIE MEDAL and the history of the CARNEGIE HERO FUND COMMISSION can be found at www.carnegiehero.org


Kevin Robert Gooding
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Kevin Robert Gooding rescued a man from burning, Hamilton, Ontario, November 21, 2008. A 68-year-old man was the driver and sole occupant of an automobile that struck another vehicle and then a guide rail while traveling on a municipal expressway. Flames burst out on the back of the car, which was carrying two five-gallon containers of gasoline, and spread to the vehicle’s interior. Another motorist, Gooding, 43, auto worker, witnessed the accident and stopped at the scene. He approached the burning car and after a struggle opened its front passenger door. The car’s driver, conscious but dazed, was lying on the front seat, the back of his jacket aflame. Gooding leaned into the car and used his hands to pat out the flames on him. He then grasped the man and pulled him from the car and to the pavement. After helping him regain his footing, Gooding escorted the man away from the car, which was soon engulfed by flames.
81754-9433
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James A. Short, Jr.
Andover, Massachusetts
James A. Short, Jr., rescued David J. Johnston from burning, Cape Coral, Florida, March 17, 2010. Johnston, 63, who was an invalid, was in the living room of his duplex apartment when fire erupted at the oxygen equipment he used. He yelled for help. Short, 52, plumber, who lived in the adjacent apartment, was alerted to the fire. He responded to the front door of Johnston’s apartment, entered, and, despite intense heat and dense smoke that limited visibility, searched the apartment for him. Seeing Johnston lying on the floor near a burning recliner in the living room, Short approached him and pulled him to his feet and to the unit’s back door. He then opened the door and dragged Johnston outside, moments before an explosive rush of flames engulfed the room. Johnston was hospitalized with first- and second-degree burns to his face, hands, and arms.
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Frederick T. Smith
Daleville, Virginia
Frederick T. Smith rescued Paul D. Knight from burning, Daleville, Virginia, April 7, 2010. Knight, 46, collapsed in the hall on the second floor of his two-story house while fighting a fire that had broken out in a laundry room off the hall. A neighbor, Smith, 53, welder, was alerted to the fire and responded. He entered the house through its front door and ran up the nearby upstairs. Dense smoke in the hall extended down to the floor, precluding visibility, and rapidly spreading flames on the second floor had entered the hall and were advancing. Smith called to Knight and, hearing him cough, crawled through the hall about five feet from the stairs to him. As Knight was inert, Smith grabbed him by the belt and collar, dragged him to the top of the stairs, and then, lifting him, hauled him down to the first floor and outside to safety. Knight was hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation and burns. Smith also sought medical attention for smoke inhalation.
82879-9444
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Randell Ranson
Heber City, Utah
Randell Ranson attempted to save Thanish Kalis from burning, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 16, 2010. While helping to secure a helicopter to a flatbed trailer on the tarmac of an airport, Kalis, 46, was struck by the helicopter during its maneuvering. He fell to the pavement, the helicopter crashing next to the trailer and leaking fuel. Ranson, 39, aircraft mechanic, was at a hangar nearby and witnessed the accident. He immediately ran to Kalis, en route seeing the puddling fuel. Ranson removed a piece of wreckage from Kalis and then grasped him by the arms to move him. The fuel ignited explosively, throwing Ranson 10 feet back and setting fire to the helicopter wreckage. Others responding with fire extinguishers fought the flames and removed Kalis. He died at the scene. Ranson was hospitalized overnight for treatment of burns, up to second-
degree, to his legs, left forearm, and face.
83360-9447
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Joseph D. Hayes
Sayreville, New Jersey
Joseph D. Hayes rescued Cheryl A. Napolitano from an attacking dog, Sayreville, New Jersey, August 31, 2007. Napolitano, 44, was walking her small dog on a residential street when an 80-pound, mixed-breed pit bull approached and attacked her and her dog, taking Napolitano to the pavement and mauling her. She shouted for help. Hayes, 51, maintenance technician, lived in the neighborhood and heard her scream. He immediately ran about 150 feet to the scene, where he grasped the dog by its hind legs and pulled it off Napolitano. When the dog then resumed its attack on her, Hayes kicked and punched it, and he aided Napolitano to her feet. The dog turned on Hayes, biting him, and it followed Hayes and Napolitano, menacing them, as they walked away. After circling them, the dog left the scene, but it was later seized. Napolitano and Hayes both required hospital treatment for their bite wounds, Napolitano sustaining them to her hands, left ear, and ankle, and Hayes to his
chin. He recovered.
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Martin C. Allerding, deceased
Hastings, Michigan
Steven J.Bolo
Hastings, Michigan
Martin C. Allerding died after helping to save Wayne R. Seeley, Sr., from drowning, Hastings, Michigan, January 4, 2010, and Steven J. Bolo saved Nancy V. Seeley and helped to save Wayne. Wayne Seeley, 64, and his wife, Nancy, 63, were riding an all-terrain vehicle on ice-covered Middle Lake when the vehicle broke through an area of thin ice at a point about 300 feet from the bank. Their friend, Allerding, 63, retired maintenance supervisor, and Bolo, 62, retired machine repair worker, responded from about 100 feet away. Although he had a history of heart disease, Allerding stood at the edge of the broken ice, grasped Wayne by an arm, and attempted to pull him from the open water as Bolo grasped Nancy by an arm and pulled. With great effort, Bolo pulled Nancy onto solid ice and then dragged her away from the hole. Allerding, meanwhile, extended an ice auger to Wayne, who grasped hold of it, but he was struggling in his attempt to pull Wayne out. Returning to the hole, Bolo joined Allerding, grasped Wayne by a wrist, and with Allerding removed Wayne from the open water. They dragged him away, but within moments he broke through the ice a second time. Allerding and Bolo again pulled him to safety. Using his all-terrain vehicle, Allerding then drove Nancy from the ice and toward his nearby home, but en route he suffered a heart attack and fell to the ground. He was taken to the hospital but could not be revived. Wayne and Nancy recovered from cold-water immersion.
82849-9437 / 82850-9438
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Mark Iovino
Bayshore, New York
Mark Iovino helped to rescue Lesley Berman from burning, Westbury, New York, January 11, 2010. Berman, 56, was in her bedroom on the second floor of her two-story house after fire broke out in that room and filled the floor with dense smoke. First responders included Iovino, 41, police officer, and three other officers, all of whom entered the structure on learning that Berman was trapped inside. Climbing to the second floor, where he heard Berman in the burning bedroom, Iovino went to his hands and knees and crawled into the room. Sweeping with his hands, he located Berman on the floor about 15 feet into the room. He then stood, grasped Berman by the arms, and, guided by one of the other officers calling to him from the vicinity of the bedroom door, returned to the door, dragging Berman. Iovino handed her off to the other officers, who removed her to the first floor and outside to safety as Iovino fled the house for air. Berman required hospitalization for treatment of smoke inhalation and burns. Iovino was also taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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Richard L. Brown
Enfield, Connecticut
Richard L. Brown saved Walter L. Bushey from burning, Enfield, Connecticut, April 23, 2010. Bushey, 79, who used a wheelchair, was inside his one-story house after fire erupted in the attached garage, which adjoined the living room. As he attempted to leave the house, his wheelchair became lodged in an interior doorway. A neighbor, Brown, 64, who was disabled, observed flames and smoke issuing from the garage and roof of Bushey’s house. Despite recovering from recent surgery and having difficulty with mobility, Brown approached the burning house, calling to Bushey and his wife. He climbed over the porch railing to avoid the nearby flames and entered the house through its front door. Crossing the living room, Brown located Bushey and his wife in a hallway. He dislodged Bushey’s wheelchair and took it to the living room and outside to the porch, where others aided in lifting Bushey to safety. Bushey’s wife also exited the structure to safety. Flames spread to the living room. Brown and Bushey and his wife were all taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, and they recovered.
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Daniel L. Diaz, deceased
Kent, Washington
Daniel L. Diaz died helping to save a boy from drowning, Rowena, Oregon, July 4, 2009. A 12-year-old boy was attempting to swim across a 300-foot-wide inlet along the Columbia River at a state park when he became fatigued and called out for help at a point about halfway across. In another party at the scene, Diaz, 33, mechanic, was on a dock that extended into the inlet. He entered the water from the dock and swam about 125 feet out to the boy. Diaz spoke to the boy, and he and the boy started to swim to the dock. After they had swum about 100 feet, Diaz experienced difficulty and called for help. Others at the scene responded to aid him, but he submerged. The boy swam to the dock on his own and exited the water to safety. Rescue divers found Diaz about two hours later. He had drowned.
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Bobby A. Qualls, Jr., deceased
Linden, Tennessee
Bobby A. Qualls, Jr., died attempting to save Kylie F. Qualls from drowning, Linden, Tennessee, May 2, 2010. Kylie, 15; her brother; and their father, Qualls, 44, maintenance worker, were inside their home, which was on the bank of a creek, when quickly rising water from heavy rains caused the creek to overflow its banks. Qualls took his son to safety on the highway fronting the property and then turned back into the floodwaters for Kylie, who was holding to a tree about 100 feet away. He struggled against an extremely swift current in the rising waters, stopping to hold to a tree. After several minutes, Kylie was swept downstream, as was Qualls. Their bodies were recovered the following day.
83148-9448
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Kevin M. Daniels
Lequille, Nova Scotia
Kevin M. Daniels rescued Harvey E. Bailey from burning, Lequille, Nova Scotia, May 28, 2010. Bailey, 60, was alone in his 1.5-story wooden house after fire broke out in a first-floor bedroom. Daniels, 44, disabled carpenter’s helper, who lived nearby, was alerted to the fire. Responding to the scene, he kicked in the front door but was unable to enter the house because of the flames. Daniels ran to the rear of the structure and opened the unlocked back door. He went to his hands and knees, looked inside, and could see Bailey lying on the floor about 15 feet into the house. Despite smoke extending nearly to the floor and flames spreading to the ceiling of the kitchen, Daniels crawled inside the house and continued to Bailey, who, unconscious, was lying near the room of the fire’s origin. Grasping Bailey by the feet, Daniels backed to the rear door, dragging him. He pulled Bailey from the house and took him to a point of safety. Flames spread and destroyed the house. Bailey was hospitalized three months for treatment of significant burn injuries, and Daniels also was taken to the hospital, for observation.
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Joshua P. S. Paik-Nicely
Burnt Ranch, California
Joshua P. S. Paik-Nicely saved Kenny R. Dison from drowning, Salyer, California, March 12, 2010. After his car left the highway in heavy rain, rolled down an embankment, and entered a pool of water along the bank of the Trinity River, Dison, 30, escaped the vehicle. Badly injured, he could not swim back to the bank against an eddy in the pool. Another motorist, Paik-Nicely, 29, general contractor, witnessed the accident and stopped at the scene. He sent for help and then from the top of the embankment saw Dison in the river treading water at a point about 25 feet from the bank. Paik-Nicely descended to the riverbank and, shedding only his jacket, entered the water, despite its 45-degree temperature. He swam through the eddy to Dison and established a hold around his shoulders. Paik-Nicely started to swim back to the bank with Dison, who outweighed him, but made no progress against the eddy’s current. Deciding to swim with the current, Paik-Nicely took Dison to a rock at the edge of the pool. He removed Dison partially from the water, and then another man who had arrived helped in fully removing him. Dison required hospitalization for treatment of a disabling injury.
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John L. Crosby, Jr.
Mandeville, Louisiana
John L. Crosby, Jr., helped to save a man from drowning, Mandeville, Louisiana, April 19, 2010. In a suicide attempt, a 30-year-old man jumped from the edge of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway at a point about 11 miles from the closer shore. Crosby, 58, real estate developer, was approaching in his vehicle and witnessed him jump. Crosby stopped at the scene and called causeway police. Concluding that the man would not survive without immediate aid, he then removed his shoes and jumped into the 15-foot-deep lake after him, despite having no ready means of egress. Crosby approached the man from behind, grasped him about the neck, and supported his head above water. Maintaining his hold of the man, Crosby trod water until police arrived shortly and threw flotation devices to them. One of the officers then descended a rope ladder into the lake and with Crosby’s aid secured the man into a rescue basket. He was lifted to the causeway deck, followed by Crosby and the officer; Crosby had been in the water about 20 minutes. Crosby was treated at the scene for hypothermia, as was the man, who was then taken to the hospital.
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Peter Shane Ambler
Dallas, Oregon
Narong Khaokhamdeceased
Dallas, Oregon
Peter Shane Ambler and Narong Khaokham attempted to save Michael S. Stewart from drowning, Netarts, Oregon, October 6, 2010. Stewart, 61, was crabbing in Netarts Bay when his 12-foot boat was carried by a very strong tidal current through the narrow mouth of the bay into the Pacific Ocean, where seven-foot waves were breaking. He yelled and signaled for help. Ambler, 44, store manager, and Khaokham, 67, retired carpenter, were also crabbing in the bay, in Ambler’s 18-foot boat. Alerted to Stewart’s situation, they immediately responded, leaving the bay through its mouth and approaching Stewart’s boat in the breaker zone. As they closed in on Stewart’s boat, which was then about 300 feet from shore, Stewart threw them a rope, but it fell short. After Ambler circled back to Stewart’s boat on another pass, Stewart again threw the line, but again it fell short. On a third pass, Khaokham threw a line to Stewart, and Stewart caught it. A large wave then capsized Stewart’s boat, sending him into the water. Ambler and Khaokham pulled Stewart aboard their boat, but then another large wave caused it to capsize. Surfacing, Ambler secured a hold of both Khaokham, who was unresponsive, and his overturned boat as they were carried farther out to sea. A Coast Guard helicopter responded and lifted Ambler from the ocean by means of a rescue basket. Khaokham was recovered by fire department personnel using a personal watercraft, and Stewart was recovered by a Coast Guard rescue boat. Ambler was taken to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia and nearly drowning, and he recovered, but neither Khaokham nor Stewart could be revived.
83565-9442 / 83566-9443
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James Hobbs,deceased
Hollywood, Florida
James Hobbs died attempting to save Nancy Alvarez from drowning, Dania Beach, Florida, June 25, 2010. While swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, Alvarez, 42, had difficulty returning to shore. In another party at the beach, Hobbs, 44, disabled, was alerted to her situation. He entered the water and swam out toward Alvarez, who was about 300 feet from the beach. When he had nearly reached her, Hobbs appeared to have difficulty in the water and was carried farther out. Others who responded returned Alvarez safely to the beach. Several men swam out to Hobbs, finding him unconscious and floating face down. They returned him to shore, where rescue personnel attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Hobbs was then taken to the hospital, but he could not be revived. He had drowned.
83307-9450
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Richard A. Johnstondeceased
Pittsfield, New Hampshire
Richard A. Johnston died attempting to save Heidi M. Johnston from burning, Pittsfield, New Hampshire, June 8, 2009. Heidi, 26, remained in her family’s second-floor apartment after fire broke out in the unit’s kitchen early in the morning. After alerting help, her father, Richard, 55, dishwasher, ascended the exterior stairs to the unit’s only door and re-entered. He proceeded through a hall toward the kitchen and was last seen turning into the living room as flames from the kitchen intensified and blocked further access to the door. Responding firefighters found Richard in the living room and Heidi in the adjacent bedroom. Both had succumbed to effects of the fire.
83155-9440
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Liviu Talos
Detroit, Michigan
Liviu Talos saved Tahani Shohatee from burning, Detroit, Michigan, July 15, 2010. Tahani, 9, was in her bedroom, on the first floor of her family’s house, after fire broke out in the living room at night and filled the floor with dense smoke. Talos, 45, construction worker, was alerted to the fire and responded to the scene from his house across the street. Learning the location of Tahani’s bedroom, Talos mounted a garbage can beneath the bedroom window and broke it out. He attempted entry twice but was forced back by intense heat and dense smoke each time. After returning to his home for a breathing mask that he used in his work, Talos again climbed to the window. He entered the bedroom and, with the aid of the mask, crawled across the room in search of Tahani. Not finding her, he returned toward the window, en route feeling Tahani’s leg: She lay on the floor about six feet from the window. Talos picked her up, took her to the window, and handed her outside to others. Talos then dived through the window to the ground, injuring his shoulder.Tahani was taken to the hospital, where she died the next day. Talos inhaled smoke and required surgical repair of his shoulder.
83346-9452
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Daniel W. Lemon
Roseville, Minnesota
Daniel W. Lemon saved Olivia E. Schuller from burning, Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 12, 2009. Olivia, 10, was inside a first-floor bedroom of her father’s house when natural gas that had leaked into the structure ignited and exploded. The house was knocked off its foundation, and falling debris pinned Olivia to the floor. Flames erupted throughout the wreckage, including the room in which Olivia lay. Those responding from the neighborhood included Lemon, 35, store manager, who was visiting a friend. Hearing screams from the bedroom, he approached one of its windows, started to remove debris, and saw Olivia just inside the room. Despite flames in that room, Lemon entered through the window, freed Olivia, and pulled her to the window. A neighbor who had responded joined him there and helped in taking Olivia to safety. Just after Lemon cleared the room, flames grew quickly to engulf it. Olivia required hospitalization for injuries received in the explosion, and she recovered.
83097-9434
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