Firefighter David J. DeFranco Medal

Firefighter Thomas F. Feaser Ladder Company 78

December 13, 2005, 1401 hours, Box 0023, Kill Van Kull waterway, behind 561 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island

Appointed to the FDNY on June 1, 1983. Previously assigned to Engines 34, 282 and 201 and Ladder 113. Recipient of one Service Rating A. Resides in Staten Island. Has three sons, Thomas, Mike and Steven.

December 13, 2005, was a bitterly cold day, with an air temperature of 24 degrees and a 10-mile-per-hour wind that made it feel much colder. There had been a snowstorm the night before that covered the City with a layer of ice and snow. This made ordinary travel hazardous and all emergency situations even more dangerous.

The last thing that FF Thomas F. Feaser of Ladder Company 78 on the North Shore of Staten Island planned on doing was going for a swim. He took the assignment at roll call, but didn’t think he’d be utilized as a rescue swimmer on a day like this. However, his years on the Fire Department had taught him to always be ready for the unusual.

  At 1401 hours, the members of Ladder 78 and Engine 155 received a telephone alarm reporting a woman drowning in the frigid waters of the Kill Van Kull. As they responded to the reported address of 561 Richmond Terrace, Captain John R. Graziano ordered FFs Feaser and his back-up swimmer, Joseph Pigott, to don their rescue swimmer gear while en route.

They knew that time was critical if they were going to save a life in this brutal weather. As the rescuers arrived at the reported address, they were waved down to the waterside by two EMS workers and two police officers, who had just arrived and seen the woman lying face down in the water.

As the Firefighters worked their way down a steep embankment of ice-covered rocks, just to reach the water’s edge, they could see the woman bobbing in the swift-moving current in the area of a rickety, old, abandoned pier. As Captain Graziano made his way out on the precarious structure, he could see the woman through an opening and knew that the current soon would carry her away. She was about 15 feet from the water’s edge when FF Feaser reached that location.

Jumping down seven feet to the icy rocks below, the Firefighter swiftly entered the frigid waters without waiting to be tethered with a safety line. In the dangerous and icy waters, FF Feaser quickly swam out to the location and grabbed 55-year-old Li Yi Lu.

Ms. Lu, who was fully clothed, was rapidly being pulled under by her now-waterlogged winter coat. The rescuer had to fight the four-knot current to get this now very heavy victim back to an area where other Firefighters were bringing a 20-foot ladder to the water’s edge. At this point, Ms. Lu was unconscious and not breathing, but FF Feaser instinctively gave her a couple of quick rescue breaths. To his pleasant surprise, she began to breathe on her own.

Ms. Lu had been submerged in the icy water for more than 10 minutes and the men of Ladder 78 and Engine 155 wasted no time getting her onto the ladder. Working as a team, the rescuers were able to get her up the embankment to the waiting EMS personnel. Ms. Lu, in critical condition, was treated by EMS, who then rushed her to St. Vincent’s Medical Center.

For his heroic actions in frigid and watery conditions, FF Thomas Feaser is presented with the Firefighter David J. DeFranco Medal.—JT

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