Firefighter Brendan Gaffney Awarded for Brave Lithium-ion Battery Fire Rescue

City Hall came alive with the sights and sounds of celebration on Wednesday June 5, as thousands of firefighters and their families descended on Park Row for the annual FDNY Medal ceremony. The event honors firefighters who for exceptional acts of bravery, while also boosting the sense of communal mission that is one hallmark of FDNY.

With many of the firemen in present in their dress uniforms, the event was immediately striking. Likewise, the steady arrival of cars dropping attendees off on Park Row; the sights and sounds of children playing on the lawns beside City Hall; and the various firemen and their families eating and drinking underneath tents before the ceremony proper.

Among this year’s Manhattan-based awardees, Brendan Gaffney of Ladder Company 36 received the Hugh Bonner and Honor Legion medals by the FDNY for Medal Day 2024.

Gaffney was appointed to the FDNY in 2008 and was awarded a Unit Citation in 2023. His new accolades honor his service at an Inwood apartment complex fire on February 5, 2023, at which he personally rescued a young child and a pregnant woman.

Gaffney and his team members at Ladder Company 36 and Engine Company 95 got word of the fire at 165 Sherman Avenue at around 1:30 a.m. on February 5, 2023. Upon arrival, they were faced with devastating flames coming from the fifth floor of the labyrinthine apartment building with word that victims were trapped inside.

When Gaffney and his team members Joaquin Melendez and Andrew Guarrasi entered the home, they reported zero visibility and a high heat condition. The fire was heavy, fueled by an exploding e-bike lithium-ion battery— the source of over 200 fires across the city in 2023 according to the FDNY. Lithium-ion batteries are inherently flammable and highly heat-sensitive, creating extremely violent fires.

The charging e-bike was not only the source of the fire but also an obstacle for both Gaffney and the victims. The bike blocked both the occupants and the firefighters, trapping the former inside their bedroom and preventing the latter from rescuing them safely.

Eventually, Gaffney’s teammate Guarrasi was able to remove a door that Gaffney then used as a shield, allowing him to move past the bike and reach the bedroom where two victims lay unconscious.

He first rescued a young child, shielding him from the fire with his own body and getting him to safety where he could receive first-aid measures. He then went back into the apartment, with no water left in his can to protect him, to rescue the second victim: an unconscious pregnant woman. Once he delivered her to the safety of the hallway, he performed life-saving treatment to ensure her survival.

The outside team members present with Gaffney also rescued another trapped victim via an aerial ladder through the window while Engine Company 95 extinguished the remaining fire inside. Gaffney’s contribution to the rescue was an astounding display of bravery, sacrifice, and heroism that demands recognition and celebration.