The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has named Thomas J. Gorman, a member of the Bohemia Fire Department, the FASNY 2014 Firefighter of the Year. The award will be presented to Gorman at FASNY’s annual convention in Albany.
Firefighter Gorman is being recognized for his heroism during a January 11th, 2013 apartment house fire where he fought through heavy smoke and oppressive heat to first locate, and then remove a resident from a rear bedroom on the second floor.
“It gives me great pleasure to present FASNY’s 2014 Firefighter of the Year to Thomas J. Gorman, for demonstrating outstanding heroism, risking his own life to save another. It is gratifying to recognize and celebrate that sacrifice in the company of our FASNY family and friends,” said FASNY President James Burns.
In the early morning hours of January 11th of last year, the Bohemia Fire Department was activated for a reported fire in the Fairfield apartment complex on Middletown Road. Chief of Department Richard Andersen and Second Assistant Chief Sterling Haynes arrived on scene within minutes and advised they had a working fire with a report of a person trapped.
Moments later, Bohemia Truck 6, including Firefighter Gorman, arrived on scene and began a primary search of the structure to locate the trapped victim. Firefighter Gorman went to the second floor and amid very challenging conditions, began his search for the victim. Gorman started his search in a front bedroom, where he encountered a cat, which he scooped up and brought back to the staircase landing and handed it off to Assistant Chief Haynes before resuming his search and heading into a second bedroom in the rear of the apartment – still looking for the reported trapped victim. As he entered the rear bedroom, Gorman’s vibra-alert on his Air Pack activated, indicating that he only had about 25% of the air left in his tank; he had just several more minutes to find the victim before he would run out of air and have to leave the structure.
Alone, he moved through the rear-bedroom, breaking windows with his helmet to ventilate the extreme heat and smoke. Gorman ultimately found the woman on a bed and while running out of air himself, dragged the resident out to the stairway landing. Other firefighters took the fire victim down the stairs to the outside, where CPR was initiated and advanced life support efforts were administered.
Gorman is a 20-year member of the Bohemia Fire Department and in his tenure has held elected positions including President and Vice President of Engine Company 1, as well as Fire Prevention Officer and has chaired numerous committees. He is an 18-year decorated Police Officer with the Old Westbury Police Department.
Currently a member of Engine Company #2, Gorman has been the recipient of numerous department awards including Unit Citations, the Hurst Green Cross Awards (1993 and 2013), and the 1995 Long Island Brush Fires award. He has been recognized by the department for numerous Pre-Hospital Saves and has twice received the Chief’s Award for his contributions to the department as well as the community.
In addition to being awarded Bohemia Fire Department’s highest award for this rescue, the Medal of Valor, Firefighter Gorman has been recognized by the Islip Town Chiefs Council for his actions at the working apartment fire. The Suffolk County Fire Academy will present him with a Gold Medal of Valor in September at the Bohemia Fire Department.
As the recipient of three distinguished Firefighter of the Year Awards (FASNY’s; the Southern NY Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s and the Suffolk County Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s), Tom’s friends and his two young sons like to tease him that he’s won “The Trifecta”. Sons Brennan, aged 13 and Luke, aged 9, also tease their Dad that they’re tired of all the recognition, but Tom knows that the boys, while a bit overwhelmed by the attention, are actually very excited and happy about it.
“I know it’s common to say, ‘I am just doing my job’, but that is actually the way I feel. While I appreciate volunteers getting recognition for their service, being honored in this way is actually very humbling,” said Gorman.
Tom Gorman will be joined at the ceremony by a large circle of family and friends who will travel to the FASNY Convention in Albany to help celebrate his award presentation.
Bohemia-resident Gorman, is a graduate of St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip and SUNY Farmingdale, and his sons attend school in the Shoreham -Wading River school district.
