VERNON, Connecticut — A 9-year-old hero was honored for his life-saving efforts at the Fire Department's Annual Awards Ceremony in Vernon.
Mayson Mendez, who was 8 at the time of the heroic act, was one of the first people honored at the ceremony. On Sept. 28, 2022, while Mendez was riding the bus home, he noticed a classmate was choking on a piece of candy and he immediately jumped to his classmate's aid.
“Without hesitation, you jumped into action...Performed abdominal thrusts... Successfully expelling the candy and allowing him to breathe normally,” Mayson’s Citizens Life Saving Award certificate reads.
Vernon firefighters and EMTs were also honored for their lifesaving and heroism at the awards ceremony.
Among the honorees were firefighters and EMTs who responded to Vernon’s biggest fire in years. Firefighters and EMTs who aided a truck driver injured in a serious crash on I-84, as well as police and firefighters who saved a choking infant.
"I want to thank you for protecting the people of Vernon," Mayor Champagne said. "Volunteers go into schools to teach children about fire safety, help to raise money for department programs and of course, answer, fire and accident calls with compassion and professionalism," he added.
Engineer Stan Landry, Firefighter Dennis LeClair, and Firefighter Dennis McMahon were honored for their response to a crash on I-84 on June 1, 2022, involving a tractor-trailer and a car that was under the truck.
Assistant Chief Robert Babcock, Captain Peter Orlowski and Jeff Schambach, Lieutenants Sean Hadden and Bert Lessard, Engineers Anthony Napolitan, Dana Robertson and Ray Tautic, and Firefighters Nicholas Bush, Joycelyn Gionfriddo, Matthew Kenzior, Dennis LeClair, Ian McMahon, Justin Taverna, Kelley Tischbein and Reilly Tuttle were honored for their response to a crash involving two tractor-trailers on Aug. 22, 2022, on I-84.
EMTs Amy Bassett and Scott Scorso, Vernon Police Sergeant Andrew Hannaford and Vernon Police Officers Andre Lisee, Jeffrey Condon and Dominic Marandino, and American Medical Response Paramedic Michael Carl were honored for their work on April 30, 2022, when they responded to Motel 6 on Hartford Turnpike for a report of a choking infant.
Vernon Police Officers David Provencher and Jeffrey Condon were honored for their actions on December 3, 2022, when a vehicle crashed into Risley Reservoir off Lake Street. The officers pulled the driver from the vehicle and the water.
Chief Stephen Eppler, Assistant Chiefs Robert Babcock and Alan Arel, Captains Jonathan Andresen and Peter Orlowski, Lieutenants Brian Johnston, Timothy Moore and Todd Cascario, Engineers Connor Raymond, Ray Tautic, Anthony Napolitan, Dana Robertson, Scott Shepard and Robert Turkington, and Firefighters James Robinson, Nicholas Bush, Jesse Messier, Neil Novak, Tyler Poulin, Kelly Tischbein, Jusin Svensk, Matthew Kenzior, James Barrows, Tyler Branon, Raheem Vann-Davidson, Zachary Lopez, Luis Enriquez, Reilly Tuttle and Zachary Antil were honored for their response to the Dec. 12, 2022 fire in an old mill at 114 Brooklyn Street.
Engineer Connor Raymond was honored as Firefighter of the Year for his devotion to duty, thirst for learning, and positive impact on his company and the fire department as a whole. During 2022, he responded to 279 calls and devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to serving the people of Vernon.
The department also honored members for their years of service, including William Graugard.
The department also honored retired members Michael Colt, a captain and the junior firefighter advisor who had 46 years of service; David Dube, an engineer with 37 years of service; Dana Robertson, an engineer with 40 years of service; and Jeff Bifolck, an engineer with 23 years of service.
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