East Northport Firefighters Receive Medals of Valor For Bravery

Photo: Chief Dan McConnell (l), standing in for Chief Daniel Heffernan, and Chief Joseph Ervin (r) receive proclamations from the Town Board.

Two East Northport firefighters were recent recipients of the Huntington Chiefs Council’s 2015 “Chiefs of the Year Award” for courageously attempting to rescue a 90-year-old woman from a house fire.

Chief Joseph Ervin and Second Assistant Chief Daniel Heffernan responded to a fire on Grover Lane in East Northport when they were told by a neighbor that the elderly resident who lived there alone was trapped inside. The men donned their gear and entered the burning building and found the woman lying face down in the second floor hallway. The men dragged the woman through the heat and smoke to the top of the stairs and were joined by other firefighters who helped take her out of the house and onto the front lawn. Despite their bravery, the woman did not survive.

For their actions, Ervin and Heffernan received Medals of Valor from the Suffolk County Fire Academy and the “Chiefs of the Year” award from the Chiefs Council.

The men were honored by Supervisor Frank. P. Petrone and the Huntington Town Council at the Town Board meeting on Feb. 9.

“We want to thank you for your heroic efforts on behalf of the residents and on behalf of the uniform that you wear, to show that what you do in this community is worthy, what you do in this community is meaningful and is for people. It’s saving lives and making people’s lives easier,” Petrone said while presenting the proclamation.

Image via Town of Huntington