Department members and good Samaritans were recognized because they went above and beyond to provide public safety and exemplary service.
LACoFD Fire Chief Daryl Osby, along with ABC7 news anchor Marc Brown and former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jim Everett, presented the Exemplary Service Awards, Letters of Commendation, Certificates of Merit, Unit Citations, Certificates of Valor and prestigious Medals of Valor to each of the deserving recipients.
This year, Fire Captains Peter Finnerty and Christopher Siok were each awarded with the Medal of Valor, the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the Department, for risking their lives to save someone during the 2018 Woolsey Fire. They, with the assistance of Supervising Fire Dispatchers Arthur Marrujo and Cheryl Sims, made several attempts in low visibility to successfully rescue a homeowner trapped by intense flames.
Medal of Valor
Woolsey Fire Rescue
Fire Captain Peter Finnerty • Fire Captain Christopher Siok
Letter of Commendation
Woolsey Fire Rescue
Arthur Marrujo, Supervising Fire Dispatcher • Cheryl Sims, Supervising Fire Dispatcher
Certificate of Valor
Freeway Save
Fire Fighter Morgan Wallace
Freeway Altercation
Elliot Hoffman, Heavy Truck Driver
Good Samaritan Rescue
Greg Klimenko, Good Samaritan • Guillermo Ulysses, Good Samaritan
Unit Citation
Centralia Incident
Fire Captain Kevin Laidlaw • Fire Captain Christopher Rascon • Fire Fighter Specialist Roger Peterson • Fire Fighter Adam Walker
Azusa Incident
Fire Captain Veronica Lile • Fire Captain Fred Salmo • Fire Fighter Jerry Guzman • Fire Fighter Michael Loput • Fire Fighter Mitchell Orsatt
Mountain Incident
Fire Captain Marc Scott • Fire Fighter Randall Bishop • Fire Fighter Burnett Burton • Fire Fighter Brian Coe • Fire Fighter Charles Groves • Michael Sagely, Senior Pilot
Certificate of Merit
Essey Incident
Fire Captain Scott Miller • Fire Fighter Michael Moreno
Pearblossom Highway Rollover
Fire Suppression Aide Brian Lugo • Fire Suppression Aide Ryan Olson
Letter of Commendation
Hurricane Florence
Fire Captain Anthony Ramirez • Fire Captain Christopher Rascon • Fire Fighter Specialist Scott Miller • Fire Fighter Specialist Jay Sartoris • Fire Fighter Jason Dobbins • Fire Fighter Herb Marroquin
Malibu Canyon Incident
Fire Fighter Specialist Joshua Hesketh • Fire Fighter Paramedic Kenneth Miller • Fire Fighter Fletcher Carter • Fire Fighter Douglas Fascenelli
Concourse Incident
Fire Captain Oscar Escamilla • Fire Fighter Specialist Clarissa Leos • Fire Fighter Robert Palma
Ten Incident
Fire Captain Jeffrey Robson • Fire Fighter Specialist David Guymon • Fire Fighter Stephen De Francesca
Prospect Incident
Fire Fighter Matthew Cuzor • Fire Fighter Gregory Marchi
Restaurant Rescue
Fire Captain Brian Tobar
Lambert Incident
Fire Fighter Paramedic Daniel Altruz
Restaurant Revival
Fire Fighter Paramedic Michael Noriega
Off-Duty CPR
Fire Fighter Paramedic Bryan Noyes
Infant CPR
Fire Fighter Albert Sanchez
Exemplary Service
Commitment • Camp 2 & IMT Food Dispensing Crew
Ricky Washington, Chief Cook • Daniel Ramirez, Plumber • Christopher Thomas, Video Production Specialist • Monica Raya, Administrative Assistant II • Raquel Lizarraga, Staff Assistant II • Celia Hernandez, Secretary III • Luis Gomez, Warehouse Worker II • Juan Carbajal, Senior Cook • Erik Castillo, Senior Cook • Princess Isreal, Inventory Control Assistant II • Christina Hernandez, Medium Truck Driver • Carlos Lyra, Medium Truck Driver • Dennis Rogers, Medium Truck Driver • Agustin Rodriguez, Grounds Maintenance Worker II • Francisco Guzman, Helper, Metal Working • John Bergendahl, Assistant Cook • Michael Mendoza, Assistant Cook
Commitment • Air Operations Section Maintenance Team
Dennis Blumenthal, Chief, Helicopter Maintenance • Terry Apodaca, Senior Helicopter Mechanic • Jose Murillo, Senior Helicopter Mechanic • Jim Ring, Senior Helicopter Mechanic • Adrian De Los Reyes, Helicopter Maintenance Inspector • Brian Uhl, Helicopter Maintenance Inspector • Mark Evans, Helicopter Mechanic • Martin Fenn, Helicopter Mechanic • Alexander Gonzalez, Helicopter Mechanic • Christopher Gunn, Helicopter Mechanic • Andreas Jung, Helicopter Mechanic • Joeseph Martinez, Helicopter Mechanic • Tyrone Mathis, Helicopter Mechanic • Kevin McDougall, Helicopter Mechanic • Adam Parra, Helicopter Mechanic • Michael Perez, Helicopter Mechanic • Adrian Sanchez, Helicopter Mechanic • Edgar Valles, Helicopter Mechanic • Anthony Velletto, Helicopter Mechanic • Wisanu Sittikai, Equipment Maintenance Worker • Neal Maeda, Warehouse Worker I • Anthony Souza, Medium Truck Driver • Claudia Garcia, Intermediate Typist Clerk
Commitment • Dispatch Support Team to LBFD
Bernard Peters, Supervising Fire Dispatcher • Jeremy Stafford, Supervising Fire Dispatcher • Christian Chavez, Fire Dispatcher Specialist • Art Chayra, Fire Dispatcher II • Mathew Marx, Fire Dispatcher II • Jon Welman, Fire Dispatcher II
Commitment • Video Production
Fire Captain Joshua Binder • Ocean Lifeguard Specialist Kealiinohopono Barnes • Phil Wilford, Video Production Technician • Gabriel Pullicar, Video Production Equipment Operator
Commitment
Battalion Chief Kevin Klar • Fire Captain Richard Atwood • Fire Fighter Specialist Ernest Kojo • Fernando Florez, Assistant Chief, Health Hazardous Materials Division • David Godoy, Deputy Forester • Karen Zarsadiaz-Ige, Training & Communications Specialist • Madeline Rodriguez, Senior Management Secretary III • Armando Gonzalez, Assistant Supply Officer II • David Monday, Medium Truck Driver
Community
Fire Fighter Specialist Kenneth Lee • Ocean Lifeguard Captain Ryan Addison • Ocean Lifeguard Specialist Timothy Ryan • Ocean Lifeguard Specialist Lidia Barillas • Ocean Lifeguard Specialist Spencer Parker
Integrity
Fire Captain Joseph Williams
Teamwork
Battalion Chief Nicholas Berkuta • Linh Vuong-Shaffer, Pharm. D., Pharmacy Services Chief I • Mimi Kim, Pharm. D., Relief Pharmacist • Cesar Gomez, Pharmacy Technician
Teamwork • Technical Operations Administrative Team
Tami Maldonado, Administrative Services Manager II • Marcy Gallegos, Administrative Assistant II • Stephanie Ige, Financial Specialist I (posthumous award) • Lisa Perez, Procurement Assistant II • David Escobar, Warehouse Worker III • Jennell Hluz, Staff Assistant I • Deborah Galvan, Secretary III • Albert Renteria, Warehouse Worker II • Diane Collins, Intermediate Typist Clerk
EMS
Fire Fighter Tyler Thrush
EMS
William Romo, Deputy Forester • Lon Anderson, Forestry Assistant • Nicholas Alegria, Forestry Technician
