Medals given for fire rescue

By Maeleeke J. Lavan
Poughkeepsie Journal

BEACON -- After pulling 75-year-old Rose Blake from a smoke-filled apartment, Beacon firefighters Tim Joseph and Lt. Tim Dexter weren't sure she'd make it.

She did.

''There was zero visibility,'' Dexter said as he described how the stairwell across from the apartment immediately filled with smoke after Joseph opened the door.

Dexter and Joseph rescued Blake from her third-floor apartment in the Forrestal Heights apartments Jan. 13.

For their heroic efforts, both firefighters were honored this week with a Medal of Valor -- the fire department's highest honor.

''If they hadn't gotten there that quickly and used all their skills to get in and find her and get her out, it would've been a different end to the story,'' said Mayor Clara Lou Gould, who also honored the men with certificates of appreciation.

Found unconscious

Blake -- a resident of the subsidized senior citizen housing building -- was found unconscious on the floor of her apartment suffering from severe smoke inhalation and burns to her face and body.

The amount of smoke alone, Dexter said, made it difficult for firefighters to see and breathe -- even with an alternative air supply.

Blake continues to recover from her injuries.

''It's a good feeling to know there's someone alive because of our actions,'' said Joseph, also a career firefighter in New York city.

It was the second time Joseph was recognized for saving a life in the line of duty. Two years ago, he and three other Beacon firefighters rescued a 73-year-old man from the third-floor of a home on Tioronda Avenue.