First responders honored for saving life of entrapped fire victim
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The survivor of a Glens Falls house fire got a chance to thank her rescuers in person. The heroic first responders were recognized with a Life Saving Award and Unit Citation at the city council meeting Tuesday night.
“I never saw them. So, this would be the first time laying eyes on them. I can’t wait to actually say thank you," said survivor Rebecca Osier.
Osier’s day this past January started like any other, but when a fire started in her home she was trapped upstairs. The Glens Falls firefighters had just finished morning drills and were preparing for their lunch when they got the call. “And with the dispatch also came with possible entrapment. That’s something you never want to hear when you hear the words, structure fire," said Deputy Chief Izzy Modert.
Modert says the crew was on the scene in less than two minutes. “There was an actual entrapment in the building that needed to be rescued. When this happens life safety, life preservation is rule #1 in fire service.”
Rebecca told NEWS10’s Reporter James De La Fuente, “I don’t remember anything besides my husband leaving for work that morning. And the next thing I remember was waking up in Westchester Hospital. And that was a couple weeks later.”
The Osiers said the road to recovery is still a long one. “I still got a lot of work to do on my lungs. They told me it’s going to really take a long time to rebuild them. Because it was mostly smoke damaged. And I had a lot of oxygen loss," explained Rebecca who said she is forever grateful to the heroic first responders. “I have to do this tonight so that I can say thank you to them, let them know how much they mean to me. Let them know that I pray for them every day."
The city presented each fire fighter with a Life Saving Award and Unit of Citation. “There’s 3,600 calls a year, these firefighters are doing it in a four-square mile city. I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Glens Falls Mayor, Bill Collins.
“I look at life and I used to, you know, get really upset and be kind of down on myself and I don’t allow myself to do that as much anymore. I try to find the brighter side of things,” said Osier.
You too can be a hero. The annual Firefighters Association of the State of New York recruitment campaign is this April 26th through the 27th.