Toledo Firefighter Allison Materni took a few steps into a flaming East Toledo house and then plunged through the floor and landed in a blaze six feet below.
As she fell into the basement, a dining room table and chairs followed and pinned her to the floor. “Imagine lighting a bonfire in your backyard and laying in the middle of it. That's where I was,” she said.
Firefighters searched in vain for a basement entrance for about four minutes. When fire Lt. Jay Knerr arrived, Ms. Materni was still trapped. So he dove through the hole in the floor and helped her escape. Ms. Materni suffered serious burns and a shoulder injury at the Dec. 30 fire, but she is back on the job.
“[Lieutenant Knerr] jumped into that pit and found energy he probably never knew he had and lifted that table so she could wiggle out,” said Joel Kaminski, head of the Safety Council of Northwest Ohio.
The safety council will honor 48 people for courageous acts during the agency's 35th annual Hero Awards Banquet at 6:30 p.m. today in The Pinnacle, 1772 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee.
Lieutenant Knerr is one of six people who will receive the council's highest prize, the Hero Award, for those who have risked their own lives or well-being to save another.
One of the Hero Awards will be given posthumously to Benny Carpenter, Jr., a South Toledo man. He drowned in July after jumping into Lake Erie to rescue his brother-in-law, James Bricker, of Millbury.
The men were boating when Mr. Bricker entered the water to see why the boat's engine had stopped running. Mr. Bricker was unable to get back to the craft, so Mr. Carpenter tried to help him.
“It's hard, but we feel honored,” Mr. Carpenter's mother, Shirley, said. “We're very happy for Benny that he's being recognized, because he definitely did give his life for [Mr. Bricker].”
Mr. Carpenter's daughter, Brandy Carpenter, will receive a Good Samaritan Award from the safety council for assisting with Mr. Bricker's rescue. Those awards are given for outstanding service that is not life-threatening.
Other Hero Award recipients are:
Mr. Boyle's mother, Robin, said “flames were roaring out” of the house's attached garage and the inside of the house was “solid black smoke” when he rushed through the front door and helped his uncle out of the house.
Recipients of the Good Samaritan Award are Kevin McLain, Paula Futch, Greg Cannon, Charles Childers, Keith Lutman, James Wilson, Cassandra Schwan, Chrissy Lywocki, Tom Miracola, Mary Sue Buehler, Pat Gutmann, Ruthann Traver, Tom Fraser, Brandy Carpenter, Nicole Knight, Elizabeth Oakes, Tony Domiray, Pete Isaacs, Rick Robertson, Thomas Smeed, Tonya Stewart, Larry Hensley, Deputy Sheriff Larry Kott, Christopher Fahringer, and John Canfield.
Certificates of appreciation, for firefighters and police officers who act above and beyond the call of duty, go to officers Jeff Brown, Lawrence George, Michael Poddany, Dean Butler, Richard Mohr, Paul Toth, Jr., Alexander Schaller, Mary Watkins, Todd Babcock, Philip Cook, and Anthony French; firefighters Jerry Arrendondo, Leslie Gant, Michael Del Vecchio, Sr., Denny Boos, and Kevin Falls; and Lt. Kevin Williamson.
First Published April 10, 2002, 7:33 a.m.
