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Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department members received honors at the 48th Annual Valor Awards for a series of high-risk rescues and emergency responses across Northern Virginia in 2025.
The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce awards recognize Fairfax County first responders whose actions and achievements went beyond the ordinary demands of duty.
Wind-driven fire traps three above Lorton salvage yard
Lieutenant Matthew C. Quigley, Master Technician Stephen D. Urban, Firefighters William R. Allen and Connor G. Mullins, Fort Belvoir Captain Timothy Genismore, Firefighters Johnny Roberts Jr. and Stephanie Hernandez-Sanchez, and Firefighter/Paramedic Lawrence Shinn received Silver Valor Awards.
Bronze Valor Awards went to Lieutenants Timothy A. Adams and Edgar Torres; Technicians Patrick C. Bebereia and Christopher J. George; Firefighter Emilio C. De Leon; and Prince William County Technicians Kelly Carlino and Oscar Hernandez.
The incident began Oct. 14 at Davis Industries in the Lorton area, where crews initially received a report of a small outdoor fire involving a salvage pile. High winds rapidly transformed it into a much larger emergency.
Fort Belvoir’s Engine 466 arrived to find a crane operator trapped high above the ground amid intense heat, smoke and flames. Firefighters climbed the crane’s access ladder and found the operator semiconscious, coughing severely and unable to walk or climb to safety.
By the time Tower Ladder 424 reached the scene, the civilian and two Fort Belvoir firefighters were stranded on the crane about 50 feet above the fire. Working in strong winds and near-zero visibility, the tower crew extended its aerial equipment over the flames and brought all three down for treatment by ALS 402 and Prince William County Medic 502.
During the transfer, Genismore’s breathing-apparatus facepiece became dislodged, exposing him directly to toxic smoke. He continued helping the now-unconscious victim despite losing that protection.
Engine 419, Medic 502 and ALS 402 supported the rescue and provided immediate medical care while operating in the dense smoke and unstable, wind-driven conditions.
Carbon monoxide reaches life-threatening concentration
Lieutenant James J. Hannan III, Technician Jeb G. Hayden, Firefighters Josiah C. Chen, Dylan P. Van Stry and Sean B. Whiting, and Firefighter/Medic Moeed A. Ghazi received Bronze Valor Awards for rescuing a family of five from carbon monoxide exposure.
Engine 410 was dispatched March 27 for a sick child. The call was upgraded while crews were traveling to the home after a second person became ill with what was believed to be food poisoning, prompting the addition of Medic 410.
Hannan suspected carbon monoxide and ordered crews to deploy four-gas monitors. Inside, the equipment registered 1,400 parts per million, an environment considered immediately dangerous to life and health.
Crews ordered everyone out. Ghazi and Hayden found one person face down in a bathroom and another unresponsive in a bedroom. Whiting, Van Stry and Chen helped three other patients leave the residence; all three collapsed after reaching the outside.
Hannan established command while Ghazi, Hayden, Van Stry and Chen treated the patients and coordinated transportation. Hannan and Whiting put on self-contained breathing apparatuses, reentered the house and verified that no one else remained inside.
Medic 410 took two patients to a hospital, and Ambulance 410 transported another. Two others declined transportation after undergoing repeated evaluations.
The quick recognition of the invisible hazard was critical. Carbon monoxide concentrations above 800 ppm can become fatal in less than an hour.
Crews force their way to barricaded fire victim
Captain Randall J. Allen, Lieutenant Kirill Bondaruk, Technicians Brandon H. Goodman, Lauren A. Wickson and Mark C. Langmead, and Firefighters Ramere S. Bethea, Robert V. Eickenhorst, Zachary C. Kuzmak, Mark G. Martinez and Jake M. Rininger received Bronze Valor Awards for their response to an Alexandria apartment fire.
Crews were sent Dec. 19 to a six-story residential building after receiving information that a fire had been deliberately set inside an occupied apartment.
Truck 410 split its crew and advanced to the smoke-filled sixth floor, where Apartment 608 was identified as the source. Engine 410 secured a water supply, connected to the standpipe and advanced an attack line.
During a primary search, firefighters encountered a locked bedroom door obstructed by a bed frame and mattress. After forcing their way inside, they found floor-to-ceiling smoke, several inches of water from an activated sprinkler and an unconscious man in cardiac arrest.
Crews carried him to the elevator lobby and began CPR. Medic 410 hauled its equipment up six flights of stairs and added advanced life-support care while suppression and search operations continued. Elevator access was delayed by about 12 minutes during the building evacuation.
Patient care continued without interruption through the difficult removal and transport. The man regained a spontaneous pulse before being transferred to emergency department personnel. The coordinated work of Engine 410, Truck 410 and Medic 410 also contained the blaze and limited property damage.
Overturned electric vehicle burns beside a home
Captain William A. Harrington and Firefighters Zachary C. Kuzmak, Mark G. Martinez and Jake M. Rininger received Bronze Valor Awards for their work at an electric-vehicle fire April 20.
Certificates of Valor went to Captain Michael J. Greulich, Lieutenant Preston R. Elder III, Technicians Thomas A. Dondero, Mark C. Langmead, Lauren A. Wickson, Marcus D. Wilson and Kevin J. Winkler, and Firefighter Hailey E. Moore.
The call was initially reported as a vehicle fire, then upgraded to a possible structure fire amid conflicting reports that a nearby house was burning. Engine 410 arrived to find an overturned electric vehicle on its side and engulfed in flames in the front yard of a single-family home. Despite the heat and volume of fire, the house had not ignited.
As Engine 410 attacked the flames and protected the residence, Truck 410 found a critically injured person who had been removed from the vehicle and learned that another person remained trapped. Rescue 408 stabilized the damaged vehicle while lithium-ion battery cells continued discharging and exploding in the wheel wells and floorboard.
Four patients were assessed: one was dead, one had life-threatening injuries and two had injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Crews applied water continuously for about 20 minutes to interrupt the battery involvement.
Some units remained for several more hours to help with crash reconstruction, assist law enforcement and support the dignified removal of the deceased person. Engine 410 later followed the tow truck to the Fairfax County Police Department evidence yard to watch for possible battery reignition.
Trapped driver pulled from burning car
Captain Mitchell C. Zumwalt, Lieutenant Paul M. Kaulfers, EMS Technician Dy’Lan D. Barr, Technicians Dustin A. Green and Sean J. Sack, and Firefighter Quinton J. Gross received Certificates of Valor following a rescue in Kingstowne.
Engine 405 and Medic 405 were dispatched May 26 to Kingstowne Commons Drive and Gillingham Row after a vehicle struck a tree at high speed. Updated reports indicated that the car might be burning with someone trapped inside.
The two units arrived well ahead of additional responders and found the vehicle off the road, engulfed in flames, with an unresponsive driver trapped inside. Fire had spread from the engine into the passenger compartment.
Gross deployed a bumper line and attacked the engine fire. At the same time, Sack put on his breathing apparatus and gained limited access through the driver’s door.
The driver regained consciousness but became disoriented amid the fire and rescue activity. The person moved into the back seat, allowing crews to pull the driver through the rear window.
Medic 405 treated and transported the patient, who sustained no burn injuries. The small initial crew had simultaneously controlled the advancing fire, freed the occupant and shifted to emergency medical care.
Arlington house search leads to ladder rescue
Lieutenant Shane S. Dickinson and Firefighters William C. Dolan, Corey J. Smith and Taylor H. White received Certificates of Valor for their response to an Arlington County house fire Aug. 12.
Truck 410 was the first unit to arrive at the two-story home, where heavy fire had spread across the first floor. The crew divided its duties: two firefighters entered to search ahead of a hose line while two others positioned ladders for rescue and emergency escape.
Dickinson and Smith searched the second floor without hose-line protection in extreme heat and poor visibility. They found the home’s occupant and moved the victim to a window, where White and Dolan had placed a ground ladder. The crew then brought the victim down to waiting medical personnel.
Woman carried down ladder during overnight house fire
Captain Austin A. Bigdely, Technicians Tory J. Albertson and Ben J. Gaynor, Firefighters Rene A. Campos Salmeron and Andre R. Velasquez, and Probationary Firefighter Jonathan R. Cochran received Certificates of Valor for a Nov. 29 house fire.
Fairfax County and City of Fairfax units were dispatched at 1:46 a.m. after callers reported flames spreading rapidly through a home and said several occupants might be trapped.
Engine 414 and Medic 414 arrived first. They found a multistory single-family house with significant fire showing, heard a bystander’s report of possible victims and saw a woman at a top-floor window.
As a full exterior assessment began, Cochran stretched an attack line and Campos deployed a 24-foot extension ladder. Cochran fell into a covered swimming pool behind the house but pulled himself out and began directing water onto the fire.
Campos and Bigdely extended the ladder to the upper window. Cochran was told to reposition the charged hose line and fell a second time while advancing it, but again recovered quickly.
The woman was no longer visible, and heavy, turbulent black smoke was pouring from the opening. Cochran aimed water into the top-floor window while Campos put on his breathing apparatus and climbed the ladder. Cochran then shifted the stream to a first-floor window below to shield Campos.
Campos located the woman, brought her through the window and carried her down the ladder. Albertson and Gaynor received her below, with Albertson providing advanced life-support care.
Gaynor also placed a 14-foot ladder at a first-floor window to support the search for other possible victims, then deployed a 2½-inch blitz line before helping with patient care.
Engine 414’s crew remained involved in suppression after the rescue, using two breathing-air cylinders. Campos and Cochran were injured during the operation, and one of them required transportation for treatment.