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A Brooklyn firefighter got the Fire Department's highest award for valor yesterday for saving the life of a rookie firefighter who was unconscious and not breathing after getting lost in a basement.
James Mills of Ladder Co. 176 was also one of a dozen firefighters who came to the aid of police officers being attacked in Bushwick 13 months later in April 2004, earning a thank-you note from the head of the police union.
The awards ceremony took place in front of City Hall just hours before a scheduled City Council hearing on how police and firefighters work together at emergencies. The hearing, however, was canceled without notice. City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said it was postponed until June 15 to accommodate the schedules of the police, fire and emergency management commissioners.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who eliminated six engine companies in this fiscal year, came out of City Hall 20 minutes late for the 11 a.m. ceremony.
He was greeted with barely discernible applause, which seemed to come from the families and friends of firefighters.
But after a short speech in which he praised the bravery of all firefighters, he got a solid round of applause as he sat.
While there were references to Sept. 11, the ceremony harked back to the annual Medal Day events of prior years, when firefighters were honored for acts of bravery that rarely made the national news.
Mills, a resident of Sayville, pulled probationary firefighter Robert Petraca of Ladder Co. 120 out of a burning basement in Brownsville without having a hoseline pumping water to beat back the heat and flames.
Petraca's air supply had run out and Mills was searching for him when his own air supply ran out. He was nonetheless able to drag Petraca to an exit just moments before the ceiling collapsed behind them.
Awards went to 42 firefighters and two companies for valor during 2003. One of the recipients was firefighter Edwin Anzalone of Ladder Co. 28 in Harlem.
Anzalone, a Whitestone resident, is a familiar figure at New York Jets games, with his trademark green fire helmet.
He and other members of Ladder Co. 28, known as the Harlem Hilton, pulled a 300-pound man to safety during a fire on Feb. 12, 2003, although a hose line was not yet in place to dampen the blaze or heat.
Staff writer Graham Rayman contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
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