Lawrence-Cedarhurst firefighter earns award for valor

When Lawrence-Cedarhurst firefighter Andrew Helicher was called to the scene of a fire early one morning last April, he recognized the address as belonging to the home next to his. Last Wednesday, Helicher received the Gold Medal of Valor from the Nassau County Fire Commission for his heroic rescue of an unconscious woman -- a rescue he performed without protective gear.

Helicher was honored for his heroics at the NCFC's annual awards ceremony on April 21 at the Nassau County Supreme Court Building in Mineola. Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department Captain Anthony Rivelli was also honored with a Bronze Medal for carrying a man and two dogs down a ladder from a third-story window in a separate fire in Cedarhurst last year on Bayview Avenue.

When honoring Helicher, the fire commission pointed out that his neighbor's two-family home on Court Avenue in Cedarhurst had already been evacuated of two children living there by their father Chris Brower, a member of the Hewlett Fire Department. Brower told Helicher that his wife, Linda, was still upstairs, and without a self-contained breathing apparatus or a water hose line, he went to rescue her. Helicher discovered Linda lying near the top of the stairs. She was unresponsive. He was able to drag her down the stairs, where he was met by her husband, who had finished assuring the safety of his children, and firefighter David Campbell — who was another neighbor. The three firefighters brought her to safety away from the home where she received treatment.

Linda Brower suffered from smoke inhalation, burns to her face and severe burns to her respiratory tract, according to the fire commission. She was treated at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. The commission said there is "no doubt" that Helicher's "heroic and selfless act" saved her life.

Helicher said the whole rescue took less than a few minutes, but "felt like forever."

"Your adrenaline is pumping," said Helicher of the rescue. "That's what we're trained for in volunteer service. I did what most people would have done."