Special Award Honors Extraordinary Acts of Courage by American Firefighters

(L-R) Fire Engineering Editor in Chief and FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton; FDNY Battalion Chief Joe Downey; PennWell Corp. CEO Robert Biolchini; 2008 Courage and Valor Award recipient Lieutenant Mike Cabral; FDNY Battalion Chief Chuck Downey; Chief Ron Kanterman, NFAAA; and Chief Ron Siarnicki, NFFF.

PennWell Corporation honored Lieutenant Michael Cabral for his display of courage and valor on the scene of an apartment fire on October 25, 2007 with the 2008 Ray Downey Courage & Valor Award at the Fire Department Instructor’s Course (FDIC 2008).

On October 25, 2007, at 0051 hours, Lt. Cabral and his Engine 4 crew responded to an alarm for a reported structure fire at a local housing project. On arrival, smoke was showing from the second floor. Occupants reported that two children were trapped in the bedroom in the apartment on fire...

Lt. Cabral ordered his crew to stretch an attack line. Immediately, without waiting for the protection of the hoseline, he headed for the second floor to search for the children. He knew every minute counted. Instantly, he encountered heat and heavy smoke; there was no visibility. He quickly made his way into the bedroom and began a thorough search for the victims. Although, he felt a bed within a short time, he could find no one in it or under it. As he continued searching, he came upon another, smaller, bed. There, he found a three-year-old boy. He scooped up the child and quickly brought him down the stairs. Outside, he handed the boy to another firefighter, who subsequently revived the boy with CPR.

Concerned that he may have missed the other victim by the first bed, Lt. Cabral made his way around firefighters who were advancing the attack line and went back to the second floor. He crawled back to the first bed. As he probed and searched, he found a nine-year-old girl wedged between the wall and the box spring.

He pulled the girl out and brought her downstairs and outside. Exhausted, he handed her to a firefighter. The girl was laid on the ground and given CPR. She was revived but had suffered serious lung injury. She recovered after a long stay in a burn trauma unit.

CEO Robert Biolchini; 2008 Courage and Valor Award recipient Lieutenant Mike Cabral

"This morning, we gather to honor another true American hero, Lieutenant Michael Cabral of the Fall River Massachusetts Fire Department. Last year, Michael’s focused act of bravery under difficult conditions resulted in saving two young lives. Lieutenant Cabral’s actions reflect on the fire service’s true values. So today we recognize him individually but in a greater sense his actions are a mirror of the outstanding actions each of you perform as a firefighter saving lives," said Robert F. Biolchini, President and CEO of PennWell.

2008 Courage and Valor Award recipient Lieutenant Mike Cabral and members of Fall River (MA) Fire Department

The Courage & Valor Foundation, founded by PennWell Corporation to ensure that the world forever remembers the sacrifices made by the heroic FDNY members on September 11, 2001, annually presents the Ray Downey Courage & Valor Award at FDIC, the world’s largest fire training show, owned and produced by PennWell. In the spirit of the heroism displayed on September 11th, this award annually recognizes a courageous American firefighters each year and commemorates the life and career achievements of Deputy Chief Ray Downey, who helped Governor Frank Keating after the Murrah Building explosion in Oklahoma City in 1995 and stayed in the world trade center on September 11th to lead his firefighters and to help victims escape. Chief Downey was the most highly decorated firefighter in the history of New York City.

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