William Friedberg Medal

Firefighter Christopher J. Sweeney, Engine Company 73 (assigned) Ladder Company 17 (detailed)

April 19, 2004, 2237 hours, Box 75-2206, 417 East 146th Street, Bronx

Appointed to the FDNY on February 2, 2003. Member of the Emerald Society. Holds an Associates degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from DeVry Institute. Recipient of a Service Rating A for this incident. Resides in New Windsor, New York, with his wife, Kathy, and their daughter, Megan.

Firefighters attending the Probationary Firefighters School are taught all tactics and procedures of firefighting during their training. Despite graduating and being assigned to a particular unit--engine or ladder--they must be able to perform all the duties of a Firefighter at any given moment. FF Christopher J. Sweeney of Engine Co. 73 demonstrated this point one evening in the Bronx, accomplishing the most important task of a Firefighter--saving someone’s life.

FF Sweeney was detailed to the “Green Berets,” Ladder 17, on this 6-by-9 tour and assigned to the forcible entry position. At 2237 hours, Ladder 17 was assigned as the first-due truck to a reported structure fire. En route to the location, Bronx dispatchers advised the responding units that they were getting reports of children trapped on the third floor.

When Ladder 17 arrived at the location, fire was showing from the third-floor windows and civilians were screaming that two infants were trapped on the third floor. The inside team of Ladder 17 included Lieutenant John Grasso and FFs William Greenberg with the can and Sweeney with the irons. They ascended the narrow stairs and were met with high heat and a heavy smoke condition on the half-landing below the third floor. Fire had burned through the top of the bedroom door and extended from the front bedroom, across the ceiling, toward the rear bedroom.

Under the direction of Lieutenant Grasso, FF Greenberg used the can to darken down some of the fire racing across the ceiling. Pushing up the stairs, Lieutenant Grasso and FF Greenberg proceeded left from the stairs, toward the original fire room.

FF Sweeney advanced to the right toward the other bedroom. Crawling in zero visibility with fire overhead and forced to endure a high heat condition, FF Sweeney proceeded down the hallway to the bedroom, without the protection of a hose-line. He entered the bedroom and felt a bed to his left. FF Sweeney swept his hand across the top and discovered the body of an infant, Jeremy Delgado. He scooped up the baby and immediately retraced his path back to the stairs. As he and Jeremy were descending the stairs, FF Sweeney alerted the other members of the 10-45. They, in turn, notified Battalion 14 via the handie-talkie.

After FF Sweeney exited the burning building, he returned to the street where he removed his facepiece and began to assess the infant’s vital signs. Coming to FF Sweeney’s assistance was FF Christopher Hill of Engine Co. 73. FF Hill took over care of the infant and began to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as he brought Jeremy to an awaiting ambulance. FF Hill continued providing the much-needed care to the infant and accompanied the EMS crew to Lincoln Hospital, where Jeremy was treated for respiratory arrest and burn injuries.

FF Sweeney returned to the fire floor and continued with the rest of his duties, including overhaul of the fire room.

Deputy Chief Richard Tobin of Division 6 noted in his report that “FF Sweeney, with only one year of firefighting experience in Engine 73, acted aggressively and professionally in performing his duties as the irons man in Ladder 17. He placed himself at...risk by entering the fire area without the protection of a hose-line under conditions of high heat, with fire overhead and heavy smoke to successfully rescue one-year-old Jeremy Delgado. It is due to the aggressive action undertaken by FF Christopher Sweeney that the infant survived this fire.”

FF Christopher Sweeney is recognized for his heroic actions and awarded the William Friedberg Medal.—AP