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by MICHAEL SCHOLL
Firefighter Ronald Mitchell of West Brighton was only six months out of the Fire Academy in March 2003 when he made a daring rescue of an 11-year-old boy trapped in his family's burning Brooklyn apartment.
Despite the intense heat of flames roiling over his head, Mitchell made his way into the boy's bedroom and found the child lying unconscious. The former police officer picked up the boy and carried him to a window, where he handed him off to another firefighter waiting outside on a tower ladder.
While at the window, Mitchell cut his right hand on a glass shard. The deep cut ultimately required 17 stitches.
The scar, still visible on his right hand, is a badge of honor for Mitchell, because the boy survived, thanks to the firefighter's efforts.
"This was what I was born to do," said Mitchell, 31, who was honored for the rescue yesterday during the Fire Department's annual Medal Day ceremony.
Mitchell was one of 10 Staten Island residents awarded an individual medal for bravery during the ceremony, which was held outdoors on the plaza in front of City Hall.
Three Islanders were honored for rescues that took place here in 2003.
Firefighters James McHale of Willowbrook and Gary Persch of Eltingville were honored with medals for their rescue of a construction worker buried up to his waist in mud when a trench collapsed in West Brighton on Dec. 15.
McHale and Persch climbed into the unstable pit and dug out the worker, John Paci of Grasmere.
A second trapped worker was killed tragically in the incident, when he was accidentally decapitated by co-workers who tried to use a backhoe to dig him out before rescue personnel arrived.
Another Island rescue earned a medal for Firefighter Michael Pannell of Rossville, who pulled a squatter from a burning abandoned building at 1939 Richmond Terr. in Port Richmond on April 5.
Other Islanders, including Erik Wiener of Tottenville, performed their acts of bravery in other boroughs.
Wiener, a 22-year FDNY veteran who has received numerous awards during his career, was lauded for his rescue of a 70-year-old, 200-pound woman from a burning Brooklyn apartment building on Jan. 19.
The rescue was made even more difficult when the frantic woman ripped off Wiener's helmet and oxygen mask as he was pulling her out of her burning apartment.
A medal was awarded to Firefighter Nicholas Siedenburg of Meiers Corners for an April 22 rescue in Brooklyn. Siedenburg is a second cousin of Firefighter Christopher Siedenburg, who died in the line of duty in 1994.
Firefighter Cosmo DiOrio of Huguenot, a scuba-trained member of Rescue Co. 1, was honored for rescuing a man from a vehicle submerged in the Hudson River on Nov. 22.
Fire Lt. Thomas Gardner of Randall Manor was awarded a medal for rescuing a boy from an apartment fire in Brooklyn on April 10.
Lt. Timothy Helf of Tottenville was honored for saving a woman from a Brooklyn apartment fire on July 8.
Also receiving a medal yesterday was Firefighter John Vanderstar of Eltingville, for the Dec. 23 rescue of an unconscious woman from a Manhattan fire.
In addition to the 10 Islanders, 30 other firefighters received individual medals for bravery during yesterday's ceremony.
Michael Scholl covers City Hall for the Advance. He may be reached at scholl@siadvance.com.
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