| STORIES FEATURED IN COMMON VALOR
A SECOND CHANCE: "The flames were rolling across the ceiling above my head. The paint and plaster were dripping down on top of me. I said to myself, you've got to get the hell out of here and forget it." Robert Osborn; Kearny Fire Department
LESSONS LEARNED: "It was the absolute worst case scenario. We were dragging our captain out of the building after he just had a heart attack and his son is standing on the corner taking pictures of the fire." Mike Terpak; Jersey City Fire Department
FLASHOVER: "I knew I was hurt bad. I lifted my hands to look at them and there's nothing but charred stuff hanging. I couldn't tell if it was my turnout gear, my flesh, or whatever. I was like… I'm dead." Lathey Wirkus; Elizabeth Fire Department
MIRACLE AT 16-E: "In our business, you train…you train…you train, and you always say - I hope I never have to use it - but you know someday you might just have to, and when that day comes it gives you a tremendous rush. All the hours and the training have paid off." John Reilly; Secaucus Fire Department
FLOYD'S FURY: "We were lined up straight in front of her. The current was moving swiftly. I told her to raise her arms as high as she could. We knew we would only have one chance to grab her. If we didn't, she was going under." Christian Hamilton; Nutley Fire Department
JUST ANOTHER ROUTINE FIRE: "I was on the second floor and I knew I couldn't get down. That's when I turned around and started running up the stairs. As fast as I was running, that fire was on my ass. I reached the top step and there was nowhere left to go." Ernie Filippelli; Paterson Fire Department
THE GREATEST GIFT: "Helping people is what the fire service is all about. There's no separation of race, creed or color. It's simply one human being helping another human being. It is absolutely the best job in the world." Vic Egg; Hackensack Fire Department
THE CALL: "We brought the victims to the top of the stairs and looked down. We saw flame and we could feel the heat. There was no way out. We started screaming to let the guys on the first floor know we were trapped." Charlie Lige; Montclair Fire Department
NINE LIVES: "When the backdraft occurred, it blew the door off its frame, hit me in the back, drove me, one of my firefighters, and the door out of the building and fifteen feet into the street. We didn't know what hit us." Michael Conlin; Jersey City Fire Department
DEFINING MOMENTS: "It got so hot on the second floor that the two firefighters were getting cooked. They went to the front window and busted it out. One of the guys pulled off his facepiece to call for help. Just as he did this, the fire broke through the front windows below him and everything rolled up and hit him in the face. Now he had to back in from the window with his facepiece off. He had to hold the mask to his face and they had to try and find another way out." Fred Kingston; Nutley Fire Department
STRAIGHT THROUGH HELL: "The victim and I were lying face to face with each other in the hallway. They were smothering the fire on his leg, but we made it out and he was alive. I was exhausted. I wanted to be done. Then he looked at me and he said, "but the baby, what about the baby?" Christopher Weiss; East Orange Fire Department
BEHIND EVERY DOOR: "When I got there the man was holding onto a four foot high chain link fence. His clothes were gone and his hair was still burning. When he turned toward me, his hands became de-gloved. He lifted his arms but his flesh stayed on the fence." Jim Riley; New Brunswick Fire Department
HUMAN SHIELD: "We couldn't understand what all the yelling was about. Above the trees and bushes was nothing more then a light smoke condition. As we approached the scene and walked past the trees, it was like the curtain going up... There was total chaos. Fire, and smoke, people yelling... the show had just begun. This was the worst fire we ever saw." Leonard Calvo; North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue
GUARDIAN ANGEL OF THE TURNPIKE: "The man's lower torso was pinned in between the truck's engine and the guardrail. He was screaming for us to get it off him. It was the first week in December. We told him not to worry. He was going to see his family for Christmas." John M. Sandor; Brick Township Fire Company, Pioneer hose, Sta. 22
FRIENDS UNDER FIRE: "I put my mask on and climbed down into the oil tank. They lowered my SCBA with a rope. Everyone was yelling for me to put it on but there was no time. I just took it and flung it over my shoulder. I went for the guy who was worse off and he grabbed for my mask. I knocked his hand away and I shook him and yelled - "We're all going to die down here if you don't listen to me." Richard Remite; Roselle Fire Department
BENEATH GROUND ZERO: “There was about an inch and a half of concrete dust and papers everywhere. Cars were burned and flipped over. Ladder’s 3 and 5 were up to the customs house. Their ladders were bent. Rescue 1 was buried under the North walkway. I’m thinking “Oh my God.” All you could see was the utter destruction of everything around you.” Kevin M. Fitzhenry; Bayonne Fire Department / NJ Task Force 1
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