Lieutenant James E. Zahn/ Lieutenant Peter L. Troiano Memorial Medal

Lieutenant William J. Bonasera
Engine Company 225 (assigned)
Engine Company 236 (detailed)

November 26, 2002, 0346 hours
Box 75-2059
2754 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn

Appointed to the FDNY on August 19, 1990. Previously assigned to Engines 260, 283, 206 and 225. Now a Captain, covering in the 14th Division. Uncle, Joseph Cutrone, is a long-retired FF from Companies in Division 11. Member of the Holy Name Society and Columbia Association. Attended Nassau Community and Dowling Colleges. Resides in Wantagh, Long Island, with his wife, Kathleen, and their children, Brittany, 6, Kayla, 4, and Billy, 2.

All Firefighters know that the most dangerous fires occur at night. Darkness makes operations more dangerous and conceals many hazards. But the most dangerous fires are the ones in the wee hours of the morning, when the victims are wrenched from the arms of Morpheus and thrown into a waking nightmare of fire and smoke. Dazed and confused residents scream for help as they try to find a way out of the choking smoke. The added problem of the fire going undetected while it spreads its deadly tentacles to trap many sleeping victims leaves the responding Firefighters with an even more daunting task.

Top row, left to right--FF Lang, Ladder 107; Captain Kalb, Engine 225; Captain Bonasera, Engine 225; Chief Ayers, Battalion 39; FF Sherod, Engine 225, FF Burke, Engine 225; FF Daly, Engine 225; FF Sonnenberg, Ladder 107; and FF Quenzer, Ladder 107. Bottom row, left to right--FF Pasquale, Ladder 107; Fuego; FF Roberts, Ladder 107; FF Maneri, Engine 225; and FF Stortz, Engine 225. photo courtesy of Captain William Bonasera

On November 26, 2002, a fire broke out in apartment 3A on the first floor of 2754 Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn. The fire first was reported to the Brooklyn dispatcher with a 3:46 a.m. phone call from the occupant of apartment B4 on the second floor of this four-story, non-fireproof, multiple dwelling. By this time, the smoke probably had taken over 74-year-old Simeon Cole in the fire apartment, flames had started to spread and fire units just were being alerted.

The time that Firefighters take to grab their gear and race to the scene are precious minutes that may mean the difference between life and death. Engine 236 was the closest Company and arrived on the scene at 0349 hours. Neighbors fleeing the building and smoke emanating from the fire apartment prompted Lieutenant William Bonasera (working in Engine 236 for the night) to transmit a 10-75 and order a line stretched to the apartment.

Realizing that the elderly man whom neighbors were reporting trapped was in grave danger, the Lieutenant forced the door to the apartment himself. He immediately was forced to the floor by the oppressive heat in the apartment, but instinctively began his search to the left, feeling his way down the hall in the acrid, black smoke. The apartment wrapped around a large shaft, which made for a difficult layout. Hoping to find the bedroom where he thought the victim would be, Lieutenant Bonasera had to grope his way through the living room as the heat overhead became more intense as he neared the main body of fire in the bedroom.

Thankfully, Mr. Cole had wakened enough to try to escape and leave the bedroom before he collapsed by the doorway. This is where Lieutenant Bonasera found him, face down and barely breathing. With flames lapping across the ceiling, the Lieutenant couldn’t stand up to grab the 250-pound victim. Rather, he had to grab him under his arms and drag him back toward the entrance, which seemed a mile away.

At the apartment entrance, Lieutenant Bonasera was met by Engine 236 nozzle man Joe McCallister and Ladder 107’s forcible entry man, Matt Yellico, who managed to get Mr. Cole out to the lobby. Engine 225 members--Captain Kevin Kolb and FF Scott Klein--worked to revive the victim prior to removal by EMS personnel.

Though exhausted from this daring rescue, Lieutenant Bonasera insisted on guiding the rest of the Engine 236 members stretching the line back into the fire, staying with them until the fire was extinguished. Engine 225 members assisted with the stretch.

Because of his great bravery in searching for the victim before a line was in place and his perseverance in making sure the fire was extinguished before he thought about his own safety, the Fire Department is proud to present the Lieutenant James E. Zahn/Lieutenant Peter L. Troiano Memorial Medal to Lieutenant William J. Bonasera. —JT