Bella Stiefel Medal

Captain Brian A. Becker, Division 13 (assigned), Ladder Company 143 (detailed)

January 3, 2004, 0236 hours, Box 75-6056, 111-09 Liberty Avenue, Queens

Appointed to the FDNY on July 13, 1987. Previously assigned to Engine Company 240, Ladder Company 105 and Engine Company 28. Holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Fordham University. Recipient of a Class III rating for this incident. Resides in Rockaway Beach, Queens, with his wife, Petra, and their children, Thomas, Anna and William, who currently is attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.

The holiday season was fresh in everyone’s mind, decorations were still displayed and the joyous spirit of the New Year was prevalent during the night tour that Captain Brian Becker was assigned to work in Ladder Company 143.

When the tone alarm sounded at 0236 hours, Captain Becker and his crew were assigned to respond to a reported second-floor structural fire. As the apparatus made its way toward the three-story, mixed-occupancy building (there was a store on the ground floor and one apartment each on the second and third floors), Captain Becker mentally reviewed what he knew about the area and his company’s assignment. The building was under the elevated subway train, a fact that impeded exterior access because of the difficulty in positioning aerial ladders. Additionally, the building did not have any fire escapes to help evacuate residents or permit Firefighter access to the upper floors. As the second-due truck, his company would proceed to the floor above the fire, an extremely dangerous position. Once there, they would have the responsibility of searching for both fire extension and trapped occupants.

Just minutes after receiving the alarm, Ladder 143 arrived on the scene and was confronted with a heavy fire and smoke condition that was being attacked by Engine Company 308. As Captain Becker coordinated his search and rescue plan with the Officer of the first-due truck, Ladder Company 142, civilians informed them that five people had jumped from the second floor of the burning building and other tenants were trapped inside.

Captain Becker gathered his crew and they proceeded into the building. Immediately, they discovered that the staircase to the second floor was burned away. A portable ladder was called for and positioned so they could ascend to the second floor. Captain Becker went past the fire on the second floor and proceeded to the third floor via the damaged, yet passable, staircase.

The fire had extended to the third floor. The hallway was aflame and cluttered with household goods that had been placed there for storage. Captain Becker made his way to the door of the third-floor apartment and, acting alone and without the protection of a covering hose-line, dropped to his hands and knees to start searching in the hostile environment.

The first room inside the apartment was the kitchen. As he crawled to the far end, he discovered an unconscious male and immediately transmitted this fact via his handie-talkie radio. Captain Becker dragged the 49-year-old out of the apartment and turned him over to the Ladder 143 forcible entry team.

The Captain then retraced his steps, re-entered the apartment and resumed searching. This time, he turned left out of the kitchen, passed through the dining room and, at the entrance to the living room, he found 19-year-old Adrian Katwaro. The young man was unconscious and in need of immediate medical attention.

After transmitting this information via radio, Captain Becker summoned his strength, hoisted up the young man, carried him out of the apartment, down the stairs and out into the street, where he was transferred to the care of EMS personnel. Although physically spent, Captain Becker returned for a third time to the top floor, where he directed his crew in the completion of their tasks.

Captain Becker acted aggressively and without hesitation as he carried out his assignment in an extremely hostile and dangerous environment. His actions uphold the finest traditions of the Fire Department of New York City. For his bravery and courage, the Bella Stiefel Medal proudly is awarded to Captain Brian A. Becker.—BDG