Former Bellmore FD Chief Awarded Medal of Valor

Former Bellmore Fire Chief John Curley received the Medal of Valor Wednesday for valiantly risking his life to save another in a 2012 fire.

“We got to the scene, and people were screaming. It was crazy,” Curley told Patch in 2012. “I looked at the house, and there was a makeshift ladder set-up on the side of it. Someone had put a ladder on top of a filing cabinet. I saw people huddled together across the street, and I asked if everyone was out, but they said their 93-year-old mother was still in there on the second floor.”

After climbing a ladder to the woman’s bedroom, Curley smashed through the window with his bare hands to find her.

“I saw her lying on the floor,” he said. “Apparently, she had tried to make it to the door and was overcome by the smoke and had collapsed. The door was already starting to burn off the hinges, fire was coming through the walls. I dragged her to the window, held her in my arms and tried to carry her down.”

• Sign up for your local Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts here

Vice President Joe Biden personally bestowed the award on Curley and all the honorees during Wednesday’s ceremony.

“You always run to the sound of danger. Even though you know anything can be on the other end . . . you put somebody else’s life above yours,” Biden said, according to Newsday. “You’re a rare breed. You’re all crazy. We love you for it. We need you.”

The Medal of Valor is the highest honor awarded to public safety officers who risk their lives to protect others.

Also honored Wednesday was ATF Special Agent John Capano, of Massapequa, who was killed by friendly fire while stopping an armed robbery in a Seaford pharmacy in 2011.

Photo: Curley, center, was honored for his bravery in 2012

More on Patch:

• Minor Snow Accumulations in Garden City Thursday, Frigid Temps, Potential Weekend Storm to Follow
• Slain ATF Agent from Massapequa to Receive Medal of Valor
• Cops Link Fatal BP Shooting to Nassau Gas Station Robbery Spree
• Nassau Police: Cars Ransacked, Gym Locker Break-in Reported
• Police: Man Charged in East Meadow Dairy Barn Burglary
• Cops: Masked Man with Knife Robbed N. Woodmere Gas Station
• Rockville Centre RadioShack Expected to Close
• Stew Leonard’s to Open in Farmingdale
• 3 Teens Hurt, 2 Critically, in Medford Crash
• Police: Drunk Islip Woman Crashed With Kids in Car
• Police Investigating Drive-By Robberies in Lindenhurst, West Babylon
• Police: Drunk Southold Man Hits Parked Car in Front of Pizzeria, Flees Scene
• Team Effort Saves Bayport Man’s Life Following Snowstorm