Monday, November 7, 2005
On Monday, November 7, 2005, at 0208 hours, units from the Kentland Volunteer Fire Station 33 were alerted to a house fire, with a report of children trapped, at Fairwood Road and Cooper Lane in Landover Hills. Fire Fighter Walter Brown was assigned to the bar position on Tower Ladder 33, the first arriving truck company on the scene. Upon arrival, crews observed heavy fire coming from the front of the house. A burned citizen was found on the front lawn of the house, and bystanders advised that one child was still trapped inside. Fire Fighter Brown saw heavy fire coming from each of the front windows and the front door. Without regard for his own safety, he quickly advanced ahead of the hose line. Under extreme heat conditions, he crawled past the main body of fire and located a bedroom in the rear of the house. Aggressively searching the bedroom, Fire Fighter Brown located an unconscious child who was not breathing. Unfortunately, the advancing fire had now cut off the path Fire Fighter Brown had used to gain entry. Unable to exit the same way he had entered, he gathered the child in his arms and began searching for an alternate means of egress. Realizing that firefighters were now placing a ladder at the rear of the house, Fire Fighter Brown made his way to a window and carried the child down the ladder to safety. Once outside, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was perform on the child who was immediately transported to the hospital. While en route to the hospital, the young patient regained a pulse and spontaneous respiration. Thankfully, he has since recovered fully. For great personal risk and judgment, Volunteer Fire Fighter Walter J. Brown is hereby awarded the Silver Medal of Valor.
