Emily Trevor/Mary B. Warren Medal

Firefighter Francis G. Fee, Jr. Rescue Company 1

May 13, 2005, 1418 hours, Box 33-1123, 80 Riverside Drive, Manhattan

Appointed to the FDNY on July 5, 1992. Previously assigned to Engine Company 280. Two brothers in the FDNY: Lieutenant John Fee, assigned to Division 13, and FF Thomas Fee, assigned to Squad 270. Attended Nassau Community College. Teaches rescue operations for various fire service organizations. Member of the Holy Name Society, Emerald Society and FEMA USAR Team NYTF-1. Cited on three previous occasions. Resides in Freeport, Long Island, with his wife, Marcia, and their children, Allison, 19, and Ryan, 13.

A former Chief of Department constantly would advocate that companies should “drill until you drop.” That advice is followed continually by Rescue Company 1. So it was not surprising that the unit was out of quarters on a warm, sunny afternoon at a drill when they were directed to respond to a fire in an SRO hotel on the Upper West Side.

With FF Francis (Frank) Fee at the wheel, the apparatus moved uptown. While en route, there were numerous announcements on the Department radio, including the transmission of a second alarm. With reports of heavy fire on two floors and in the shaft, the members of Rescue 1 knew that they would be involved in arduous firefighting duty.

After they arrived, the company operated in several areas of the building. At one point, a retired FBI agent who was on the scene notified the Battalion Chief that a civilian was hanging out a window on the left side of the structure. Several members of Rescue 1 then were dispatched to effect a rescue of the dangling 53-year-old male.

Receiving his orders, FF Fee raced up the narrow stairway to the ninth floor. Once there, he exited into the public hall, which was extraordinarily hot and filled with inky black smoke. Fire had taken possession of apartment #8 and its open door allowed fire into the area directly in front of the adjacent apartment (#7), where the door was ajar and the victim located. FF Fee could hear cries for help, which were becoming weaker and weaker, emanating from the hostile environment in which the victim was trapped.

With no hose-line in place to protect him and time of the essence, FF Fee decided he had to act immediately. He made his way through the heat and smoke along the hallway, went past the rolling flames and finally was able to enter the victim’s flat. Once inside, he shut the door behind him and proceeded to locate Mr. Wyatt, who by this time, was unconscious.

After venting the window and looking down, he saw that the aerial ladder that had been positioned outside could not reach his location. The Firefighter had no alternative other than to bring Mr. Wyatt into the public hall. FF Fee provided the victim with some air via his SCBA, summoned his remaining strength and dragged Mr. Wyatt to the door. Once there, he was met by Captain Thomas Hughes, Ladder 16, and FF Patrick Barry, Rescue 1, who assisted in bringing the victim back past the fire to the stairwell.

Mr. Wyatt, suffering from smoke inhalation, subsequently was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital. His condition was so severe that eventually he was transferred to Jacobi Hospital in order to treat him for exposure to high levels of CO. Once Mr. Wyatt was in the hands of other members, FF Fee then re-joined his company in completing a search of the fire floor.

FF Fee not only operated alone in an extremely hostile environment, but exhibited courage by passing through a heavy fire condition without the protection of a covering hose-line. His quick decision-making and actions--including removing his own mask and placing it on the victim--surely saved the life of another. FF Francis G. Fee, Jr., clearly demonstrated his bravery and upheld the highest traditions of his company and the FDNY. For these efforts, he is awarded the Emily Trevor/Mary B. Warren Medal –BDG

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