Four Alpha Fire Company firefighters — all Penn State students — received special recognition this week for their efforts to rescue a colleague who was injured in a fall while battling a blaze at a historic Penns Valley building in October.
Lieutenant Kara Stover and firefighters Diego Gomez, Jason Jiang and David Barnfield exhibited “professionalism and bravery” during the fire at the Woodward Inn, according to the citation presented at Monday night’s Centre Region Council of Governments General Forum meeting.
Alpha was among numerous fire companies from around Centre County dispatched to the second-alarm fire early at the 211-year-old building in Haines Township early on the morning of Oct. 5.
While on the scene, Alpha’s Rescue 5 unit was reassigned to take a line through the front door to perform a fire attack on the first floor, Centre Region Fire Director Shawn Kaufman said.
Captain Christopher Martin was attempting to gain position when the floor collapsed and he fell inverted 10 feet to the basement level, landing on his shoulder and sustaining a significant injury, Kauffman said.
Firefighter Diego Gomez fell into a hole but landed on an exposed floor beam. He made verbal contact with Martin and began to plan the rescue, informing the other unit members of the situation and having ladder brought in.
Gomez, who had been injured himself, helped Martin up the ladder, then Stover, Jiang and Barnfield helped their crewmates get back onto the first floor and out the front door.
“Rescue 5 performed a rescue of a downed and injured firefighter with a high level of professionalism, dedication and calmness,” Kauffman said. “Performing this rescue demonstrates the dedication and commitment of the Alpha Fire Company members and represents the best traditions of the fire service.
Martin, who was in attendance on Monday night, is still off duty as he recovers from his injuries.
The four honored firefighters were not on hand because they left for Penn State’s Thanksgiving break. Each was recognized at the fire company’s most recent meeting.
Stover is from Lock Haven, Gomez from Millcreek Township in Erie County, Jiang from the Hershey area and Barnfield from Montreal, Canada.
“I’ve talked to you many, many times about our student firefighters and how they provide services. That’s a prime example,” Kauffman said.
The Woodward Inn was devastated by the fire, but its owners, who were in the midst of an extensive renovation to restore it as a lodging venue, are working to bring it back to life. A GoFundMe campaign aims to help with phase one restoring the landmark’s stone walls, while the owners will assume the cost of all other work to revive the building.
