FDNY to honor 3 probationary firefighters for their life-saving heroics
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 6:50 PM
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BRYAN PACE/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFDNY Firefighter Jordan Sullivan, 38, speaks at a press conference held at the quarters of Engine 219 / Ladder 105 related to his save of an infant in a fire.
They’ve barely eaten any smoke, but three probationary FDNY firefighters are already being recognized as heroes.
The newbie Bravest — Marlon Sahai, 30, Justin Tallett, 27, and Jordan Sullivan, 38 — are set to be honored on Wednesday at the annual FDNY Medal Day ceremony for saving lives.
It’s the first time in the department’s history that three probies are receiving medals in the same year.
“To know you saved someone’s life, especially at the beginning of your career, is really rewarding,” Tallett told the Daily News on Tuesday. “It’s a great feeling to know you did your job.”
FDNYFDNY Probie Justin Tallett rescued a little boy from an East New York apartment fire in July of 2014.
FDNYJordan Sullivan rescued a 5-month-old baby from a blaze at the Wyckoff Gardens Houses in March of last year.
FDNYProbationary firefighter Marlon Sahai rescued a young woman trapped inside her East Village apartment during a fire last August.
When Tallett, of Ladder 107-Engine 225 in Brooklyn, arrived on the scene of a East New York building blaze on July 29, 2014, he and his crew were told of children trapped inside.
“When you hear that, you get a little more amped up,” said Tallett, who will be bestowed the M.J. Delehanty Medal.
Braving flames and blinded by smoke, Tallett crawled around the apartment until he felt the leg of a bed.
“When you feel a bed, you know to check for someone sleeping,” Tallett said. “So I climbed on the bed, pulled back the blankets and felt that there was a kid there.”
“The whole thing was surreal, I had just come out of training. My first thought was, holy crap, I have to get him out.”
He grabbed 4-year-old Trevele Belton and pulled him from the brink of death.
“I passed him off and they started to do CPR,” Tallett said. “His family came to the firehouse a few days later to thank us.”
If it wasn’t for Sahai’s bravery, Chelsea Barnett wouldn’t have lived to see her 24th birthday.
On Aug. 17, 2014, Barnett was trapped in a burning apartment at 92 St. Marks Place in the East Village when Sahai and his Ladder 9-Engine 33 crew raced to the rescue.
When Sahai reached the unconscious woman, her eyes were rolled back in her head.
“I thought, ‘Aw man, this is not good.’ I thought, I just have to get her out,” said Sahai, who will be awarded the Thomas A. Wylie Medal.
“I scooped her up, cradled her close to by body and carried her out,” Sahai said.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to help in this way,” he said. “This is why you do the job.”
Sullivan of Ladder 105 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, said he’ll never forget the screams of a desperate grandmother when arrived at a 2 a.m. fire at the Wyckoff Gardens Houses on March 16, 2014.
"The grandmother was screaming, 'My babies are in there! My babies are in there!' A man then began to lead the way to show us where they were at,” said Sullivan, who is getting the Honor Legion and Hugh Bonner medals.
Sullivan and fellow firefighter Bryan Kelly made their way to the flaming fifth-floor apartment.
“He went left and I went right. I was just feeling around with my left hand. Once I felt the legs of the cribs, I knew there was hope,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan plucked a 5-month-old baby named Justice from his crib and raced him to safety.
“I started screaming, ‘I’ve got the baby, sir! I’ve got the baby, sir!’” Sullivan recalled. “I lifted the baby up, took him into the hall and handed him off.”
Meanwhile, Kelly found Justice’s 8-year-old terrified sister huddled in a bedroom and rescued her.
“It didn't register until later what had happened,” Sullivan said. “I was thankful to be in the right place at the right time. It was a blessing.”
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