Firefighters Who Saved Man in Wintergreen Fire Receive Purple Heart, Medal of Valor

In January, Novi firefighters at 24144 Wintergreen Circle. The fire ended up destroying the home, but the resident survived.

On Tuesday at the semi-annual , six Novi firefighters were recognized for their bravery and service that night.

Novi Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety David Molloy presented the men with the awards, and Oakland County Commissioner Kathy Crawford gave each of them a proclamation from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. 

Lt. Richard Schulz received the Fire Department's highest honor: a medal of valor. Matt Gabrielson and Joe Rhome received medals of honor. Michael Peters Received a Purple Heart, and Vince Schira and Ramon Alvarez received company citations.

On the night of the fire in January, operations commander Ramon Alvarez organized a search team to find the man who was reportedly still inside the house. The team was comprised of Richard Schulz, Vince Schira and Michael Peters.

"The search team located the male victim lying in an adjacent dining room, just off the garage area. The victim was conscious and reaching out to them, but was disoriented due to the smoke and fire conditions. He was unable to self-excavate due to his physical disabilities," Molloy said. "The crew began to move the victim toward the garage door exit, when suddenly conditions changed to zero visibility by the thick, dark smoke, further hampering the rescue efforts. The crew became somewhat disoriented and began exiting toward the front door. By now, low-air alarms were activating, and operations commander Lt. Alvarez ordered the search crew out. A mayday was actually called and declared by Lt. Alvarez after Lt. Schulz was unaccounted for for a brief period of time."

At that time, firefighters Matt Gabrielson and Joe Rhome were performing exterior operations on the front side of the home when they were alerted by Schulz's alarm. The two firefighters veered into the front door of the house and saw Schulz and the victim lying in the foyer area.

"Despite the front of the structure being fully involved, and obvious signs of roof collapse that was already taking place and continued to take place, they disregarded their personal safety, and entered the structure to remove Lt. Schultz and the victim," Molloy said.

Peters fractured his thumb during the initial search for the victim, which later required surgery; this earned him the Purple Heart. Schulz was also transported to the hospital that night for treatment.

"Without their heroic actions, the homeowner would have certainly perished in this event. And for not the actions of firefighters Gabrielson and Rhome, perhaps Lt. Schulz would have met that same peril," Molloy said.