Newsday

Congema, 40, was the first to find someone, dragging the unconscious person to his comrades for them to pull out of the March 23, 2007, blaze in the Parkchester section of the Bronx.

Congema stayed behind and repeated the feat four more times.

It was the three-man team's first rescue.

Congema was recognized for his brave actions yesterday, receiving the New York Fire Department's top honor-the James Gordon Bennett Medal-during the 139th Annual Medal Ceremony at City Hall.

The medal is awarded to firefighters "for the most outstanding acts of heroism," fire officials said. But Congema, a nine-year veteran, reasoned yesterday that he just did his job.

"You don't have time to think, 'God, there's a lot of fire' or 'The smoke is too thick,'" Congema said shortly before a crowd of about 3,000 erupted in applause when his name was called. "All those rooms had to be searched."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted Congema's heroics. "Without regard to his own safety, he crawled through the dense, black smoke of an apartment fire in the Bronx to rescue five unconscious people."

Bloomberg later draped the medal hung by red ribbon around Congema's neck. His family, including his wife, Deanne, and their children, Emily, 3, Ashley, 1, and 3-week-old Andrew, watched nearby.

His wife has a difficult time reliving the day of the rescue. "It's tough, but I'm very proud of him," she said. "It's amazing."

James Gordon Bennett, the editor and publisher of the New York Herald, first awarded the medal in 1869.

Thirty-nine medals were given to firefighters - many from Nassau and Suffolk counties - and five to emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Yesterday marked the first year the medal ceremonies were combined.

The day of the Bronx fire, Congema and firefighters Robert Watts and Ron Fuentes, who were all of Ladder Company 41, were faced with intense heat and blinding smoke when they entered the two-story building. After he pulled the first person to safety, Congema used a thermal imaging camera to find the others.

The last person Congema remembers pulling out was an unconscious young girl. At that moment, thoughts of his family surged into his mind.

"You think of family being in that type of situation," said Congema, who since has been promoted to lieutenant. "I have very young kids, so it really hit home."