Plymouth Firefighters Honored For Assistance With Water Rescue

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — Volunteer firefighters from Plymouth Township were recognized by local officials this week for their heroic rescue of a motorist who had become stranded in flooded waters earlier this summer.

The Plymouth Township Council, during its August 9 meeting, honored a handful of firefighters from Plymouth, along with a number of their Conshohocken counterparts, for a combined rescue effort back on June 9, when emergency responders were dispatched to the 1200 block of Conshohocken Road in Plymouth Township for a report of a vehicle stuck in high moving floodwaters with someone trapped inside, according to a post on the Plymouth Fire Company’s Facebook page.

“As fire department units arrived the quick rising water had completely overtaken the vehicle submerging it along with its occupant under the water,” the post reads. “Rescue swimmers from Plymouth and Conshohocken with the assistance of several rescue personnel on shore quickly entered the water where they safely extricated the trapped victim, getting them safely back on dry land to the care of awaiting EMS.”

During the recent township council meeting, Plymouth elected officials read a resolution commending the rescuers for their efforts, and presented commendations to those emergency responders who were on scene that day.

Commendations of merit was issued to the following individuals:

Captain Charles Gallagher of the Plymouth Fire Co.; Captain Mark O’Neill of the Plymouth Fire Co.; Firefighter Steven Karowski of the Plymouth Fire Co.; Deputy Chief David Murphy of the Plymouth Fire Co.; and Conshohocken Fire Department Firefighter Drew Ingvertsen.

The following citations were also handed out to individuals with the Conshohocken Fire Department:

Lieutenant Andrew Thomas, Rescue 43; Firefighter Marc Montelius, Rescue 43; Firefighter Steven Buonomo, Rescue 43; Engineer John Papalitskas, Marine 43; Firefighter Matthew Kijak, Marine 43; Fire Chief Tim Gunning, Marine 55; Captain Daniel Costello, Marine 55; Engineer Christopher Dixon Marine 55; Firefighter Steven Young, Marine 55; Firefighter Gary Davis, Marine 55; and Firefighter Michael Yuengling, Marine 55.