William F. Conran Medal

Captain William J. Walsh (3) Squad Company 41

January 5, 2005, 0121 hours, Box 4764, 4145 Park Avenue, Bronx

Appointed to the FDNY on November 22, 1980. Previously assigned to Engine 280, Squad 1, Ladder 103, Ladder 161 and Engine 242. Member of the Emerald Society. Holds an Associate’s degree from the City University of New York. Resides in Warwick, New York, with his wife, Kim, and their sons, Drew, Devin Lee and William, Jr.

Squad is a special company. It’s a unit of highly trained, motivated and capable Firefighters who take on some of the most difficult tasks. Many Chiefs at fires look at the Squad as their ace in the hole. If things start to look bad, they say, “let’s get the Squad in there.” It was just such a situation in the early-morning hours of January 5, 2005, that the 17th Battalion played its ace in the hole.

At 0121 hours, Squad 41 was special-called to Box 4764 for a fire at 4145 Park Avenue. Due to the amount of debris in the two-story, wood-frame building, engine companies couldn’t get their hose-lines past the large piles of garbage and ladder companies were having trouble performing searches.

Situations such as those described above are referred to as Collyer mansion-type conditions. This phrase is a reference to two eccentric brothers who lived in squalid conditions in a mansion. They had a fire in their home and eventually were found days later, buried in mountains of debris. It was just these conditions that required a special assignment for Squad 41. Their assignment was to find an alternate means of attack, because units were stalled at the front entrance.

Battalion Chief Kevin Corrigan, Battalion 17, ordered Squad 41’s forcible entry team to the rear of the building to find an alternate entry. Commanded by Captain William Walsh, Squad 41 members made their way to the rear and were confronted with myriad problems. The rear door of the fire building was six feet off the ground. Apparently, there was a rear porch that had been removed, leaving the rear entrance above ground. Additionally, there was no doorknob, the windows were secured with wire mesh and steel gratings and the door was nailed shut.

Captain Walsh ordered FF Michael Leo to get a 10-foot A-frame ladder from Ladder 27, which was parked in front of the fire building. When FF Leo returned to the rear with the ladder, FF Andrew Braun, the irons Firefighter, ascended the ladder. While FF Braun forced the top of the door, Captain Walsh used his Officer’s tool to pry open the bottom. Together, they were able to open the door, but this only gained them access to a mountain of debris. Garbage was piled from floor to ceiling, with heavy smoke pushing through every crevice in the mound of trash.

After pulling enough material from the top of the pile, Captain Walsh and his forcible entry team were able to climb over the rubbish to attempt a primary search. On entry, FF Braun found a 60-lb. pit bull inside the doorway and handed the dog out the rear door and down the ladder.

Captain Walsh continued the primary search and ventured deeper into the maze of unstable debris. Garbage was piled high on each side of a narrow path cut though the middle of the passageways. Heat was intensifying and conditions were deteriorating quickly. The fire was extending unimpeded throughout the trash-strewn apartment and without the protection of a hose-line, Captain Walsh soon would have to abandon his search.

The Captain encountered a waist-high wall and crawled over the barrier to enter the next room. Entering the room, Captain Walsh found the unconscious Victor Mendoza lying face up, not breathing and entirely covered in debris. The rescuer worked feverishly to free Mr. Mendoza from his entanglement in the trash. He then carried/dragged him to the partition wall where FF Braun met him. Captain Walsh lifted the victim up onto the wall and simultaneously, FF Braun pulled him completely over.

Captain Walsh could sense that conditions were becoming untenable. This feeling was reinforced when the Incident Commander ordered the evacuation of the building due to the fire conditions. With this knowledge in hand, Captain Walsh and FF Braun then quickly removed Mr. Mendoza back through the debris-strewn apartment. They were finally able to get him to the rear door and down the ladder.

At the rear yard, the victim was removed quickly to the street where the other members of Squad 41--FFs Michael Lindy, Owen McGovern and James Hodges--performed rescue breathing. Mr. Mendoza then was removed to an awaiting ambulance and taken to Jacobi Hospital for treatment in the hyperbaric chamber.

Captain William J. Walsh operated in extremely punishing and dangerous conditions, with no regard for his own personal safety. His actions are, therefore, befitting of recognition in the finest traditions of the New York City Fire Department. He is honored with the William F. Conran Medal.—CB

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