Firefighter Jason Rivera, an 18-year veteran of the fire service and a member of the New Haven (CT) Fire Department, was awarded the 2016 Ray Downey Courage & Valor Award at Wednesday’s Opening Session. Robert Biolchini, chairman of the board, PennWell Corp., presented the award. Fire Department of New York Battalion Chiefs Joe and Chuck Downey, sons of Ray Downey; Ron Siarnicki, executive director, National Fallen Firefighter Foundation; Chief Ron Kanterman, National Fire Academy Alumni Association; and Bobby Halton, Fire Engineering editor in chief / FDIC education director, also members of the Selection Committee, participated in the ceremony. Just past midnight on March 1, 2015, Firefighter (FF) Jason Rivera responded with other units to a working fire in a 2½-story balloon-frame, wood dwelling. He was assigned to the pipe position.
The call was for a reported structure fire, approximately 500 yards from Engine 6’s quarters, which allowed for a quick response. However, Truck 4, which responds from the same station, was already out at an alarm and would be responding from a district away, delaying the first-due truck significantly. This factor also delayed placement of the second-due engine, as it had to stage on the snow-covered street until the truck arrived.