​​22 First Responders Honored At Upcoming Morris Co. 200 Club Awards

WHIPPANY, NJ — Twenty-two local first responders will be honored for their bravery and outstanding service at the 200 Club of Morris County’s 50th Valor And Meritorious Awards this spring.

This includes police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and other responders from Boonton, Denville, Morristown, Mountain Lakes, Pequannock, Roxbury, Washington Township, and Wharton.

The Valor Award is awarded to those who put their own safety aside in life-threatening situations, and go above and beyond the call of duty. Those who perform above and beyond the call of duty, but whose life is not actually in danger, receive a Meritorious Award.

The 2024 Valor and Meritorious Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 25 at Birchwood Manor in Whippany, with doors opening at 5:45 p.m. The gala-style awards celebration draws over 400 attendees.

This year’s guest speaker will be New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan, and “The Commissioners” will be providing entertainment. Tickets are $125 per person, and there are also sponsorships and celebratory ads available for purchase.

The 200 Club of Morris County is one of many throughout the nation, and provides both emotional and financial support for first responders and their families.

Here is some information about this year's recipients:

Five Boonton firefighters will receive the Meritorious Award for their work saving a family, including their young child, from a fire on Dec. 16, 2023. There was no means of escape from the second floor, and crews had to set and climb ladders to allow the occupants to escape while also fighting the fire. Firefighters also had to enter the building as the fire worsened to continue their search.

Four EMTs and paramedics from Roxbury Fire and St. Clare’s Health System will receive the Meritorious Award for their care of a gunshot victim during an active scene at the Roxbury Circle Hotel on Oct. 18, 2023. The man had been shot in the leg with a hollow point bullet, and first responders stabilized him before taking him to the hospital.

Officers from Boonton and Mountain Lakes are being recognized with a Meritorious Award for their intervention when a man was considering suicide, and was sitting down near the water's edge at the falls at Grace Lord Park. The officers lifted him up and away from the water, and were able to get him medical help.

Three Pequannock Police Department officers are being awarded for their quick response after a car went into a pond on April 4, 2023, including two of the officers who jumped into the retention pond and swam to the vehicle. Both occupants of the vehicle still had their seat belts on and police pulled them to safety.

Eight members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), which included several local police officers, will be given the Valor Award after an encounter with an armed suspect at a Montville hotel in December 2022. Officials were helping Bergen County authorities with tracking down an attempted murder suspect. The SERT members used a battering ram to open the door and the man began firing a revolver at officers, who returned fire and fatally wounded the man.

Here is the full list of recipients:

• EMT Pamela Sawyer Karkovice, Roxbury Company One: Meritorious Honoree
• Fire Engineer/EMT Ryan Fischlein, Roxbury Company One: Meritorious Honoree
• Sergeant Daniel Mondino, Boonton Police Department: Meritorious Honoree
• Patrolman David Brown, Mountain Lakes Police Department: Meritorious Honoree
• Sergeant James Dericks, Pequannock Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Patrolman Stephen Knatz, Jr., Pequannock Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Patrolman Brian Parigi, Pequannock Police Department: Meritorious Honoree
• Sergeant Frederick Jackson, Denville Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Corporal Matthew Cilurso, Morris County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT): Valor Honoree
• Sergeant James Rae, Morris County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT): Valor Honoree
• Sergeant James Krauss, Morristown Bureau of Police: Valor Honoree
• Patrolman Charles R. Bohannon, Jr., Roxbury Township Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Patrolman Steven Strowbridge, Roxbury Township Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Former Corporal Kevin Barnes, Washington Township Police Department: Valor Honoree
• Sergeant Richard Ornelas, Wharton Borough Police Department: Valor Honoree

Saint Clare’s Health System Meritorious Honorees

• Paramedic Kasey Bizzaro, MICP
• Paramedic Andrew Quevedo, MICP

Boonton Fire Department Meritorious Team Honorees

• Firefighter Ryan Baker
• Lieutenant Michael Mullaney
• Firefighter Carl M. Wendt
• Past Chief James Wendt, Sr.
• Captain Tyler Wendt

Click here to read more about the ceremony.