FDNY Medal Day 2016
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Lt. Kirby McElhearn<br />
<strong>Medal</strong><br />
September 14, 2015, 0610 hours, Brooklyn<br />
EMS Captain<br />
Horace G. Williams<br />
EMS Lieutenant<br />
Robert A. Atkins<br />
Station 57 Station 44<br />
Appointed to <strong>FDNY</strong> as an Emergency Medical Technician on August 3, 1992.<br />
Since promoted to Captain and assigned to Station 57. Previously assigned to<br />
Stations 46, 49, 58, 39 and 44. Wife, Lieutenant Tawana Williams, is assigned to<br />
Station 49. Recipient of pre-hospital save awards. Resides in St. Albans, Queens,<br />
with his wife, Tawana, and their children, Marcus, Tyrell, Jada and Samira.<br />
Appointed to <strong>FDNY</strong> as an Emergency Medical Technician on September 5,<br />
1989. Prior assignments include Stations 37 and 36. Served with the U.S.<br />
Marine Corps. Attended Nyack and LaGuardia Colleges. Resides in Cambria<br />
Heights, Queens.<br />
On September 14, 2015, Lieutenant Robert Atkins and<br />
then-Lieutenant Horace Williams were starting their tour<br />
for the day. Just a few minutes past six a.m., they were<br />
startled by a loud banging on the station door. The commotion<br />
was generated by a neighborhood resident, alerting the pair of a<br />
fire in the laundromat, across the street. More alarming was that<br />
people were trapped in the adjacent building.<br />
The pair sprang into action. While the Brooklyn dispatcher<br />
was alerted of the active fire in the laundromat, the two<br />
Lieutenants proceeded to the adjacent occupied building to alert<br />
the occupants of the need to evacuate. They gained access into<br />
the building by breaking the glass of the front door with a golf<br />
club and proceeded inside to knock on apartment doors to urge<br />
the residents to leave the premises.<br />
While the two Lieutenants were assisted by other employees<br />
who were either finishing up their shift or starting their tour for<br />
the day, Lieutenants Atkins and Williams were instrumental<br />
in ensuring that the building was evacuated. In spite of the<br />
worsening smoke condition, they proceeded up to the other<br />
floors to make sure that the residents were evacuated safely.<br />
What started out as an ordinary day suddenly became<br />
extraordinary. The heroic and selfless actions of Lieutenants<br />
Robert Atkins and Horace Williams saved the lives of many on<br />
this early morning of September 14, 2015.<br />
For their quick thinking and brave actions, Lieutenant Robert<br />
Atkins and Captain Horace Williams are honored today with the<br />
Lieutenant Kirby McElhearn <strong>Medal</strong>.—AS<br />
Fire Department, City of New York • <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
45
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