Former fire chief gets Lifetime Achievement Award
OCEAN CITY — Retired Fire Chief Joseph Foglio was awarded the first Fire Service Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 26 during the second annual Public Safety Recognition Event at Ocean City Tabernacle.
Foglio began his career with the Ocean City Fire Department in January 1980 and quickly rose through the ranks. He was promoted to captain in 1989 followed by a promotion to deputy chief in 1991.
Foglio was named acting chief in 1998 and then officially promoted to the rank in 2000.
“Over the course of Chief Foglio’s 31-year career, he demonstrated a commitment to the safety and well-being of not only the community but also the firefighters under his command. He was instrumental in the development of numerous programs and policies that have both greatly improved emergency services in Ocean City and raised the professional standing of the Ocean City Fire Department,” Chief Bernie Walker said.
Examples of the programs include the incorporation of fire-based first responder medical services, acquisition and distribution of AEDs on all fire apparatus, the inclusion and consolidation of emergency medical services within the fire department requiring all firefighters to be licensed EMTs, fire department supervision and management of the beach patrol, increased staffing levels and the development of fire-based water rescue operations.
Foglio was been married to his wife, Debra, for 43 years and is the father of five children.
He continued his education after graduating from Ocean City High School in 1975, earning a bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg University and an associate degree in fire science from Atlantic Cape Community College. Additionally, he studied fire administration at the University of Maryland.
Foglio shared a heartfelt story of being stricken with cancer, only to be followed by his wife and daughter, as well as a warning to firefighters to take care of their health through proper equipment and procedures.
Walker shared his thoughts on the elevated risk of cancer faced by firefighters.
“When most people think of risks that firefighters face, they immediately think of fire scenes with large volumes of fire, heavy smoke, limited visibility, extreme heat, collapse hazards or a variety of other dangerous situations … . But in reality, cancer is the most dangerous threat to firefighter health and safety today,” he said.
Walker explained that firefighters are at elevated risk of suffering a range of cancers, including those affecting lungs, kidneys, livers and blood.
“This is due primarily to their exposure to a vast number of carcinogens and dangerous chemicals on a fire scene. These chemicals, combined with smoke and soot, create an environment where cancer-causing agents infiltrate a firefighter’s body either through the respiratory tract or through direct contact,” he said.
Walker said that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher chance of dying from cancer than the general population.
“Sadly, this is a subject that has touched the Ocean City Fire Department, affecting both retired and active duty members,” Walker said. “Recently the department had two active members diagnosed with different forms of cancer. This is in addition to several retired members suffering from cancer as well.”
Life-saving awards
Walker, Police Chief Bill Campbell and Ocean City Beach Patrol Director J. Allan Karas, with help from Mayor Jay Gillian, handed out awards to first responders who took part in 14 different incidents over the past year.
Calls to duty ranged from responding to a house fire with entrapment to treating and transporting victims of seizure and cardiac arrest. Rescues were conducted on land and at sea, involving E-bikes and sailboats.
Dispatchers, officers, firefighters and lifeguards dealt with situations involving mental health crises and drug overdose. One highly trained member of the fire department joined a task force to help rescue victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
— Oct. 26, 2024: Structure fire
Dispatchers Rachel Anderson and Mark Newman received numerous 911 calls around 8:27 a.m. reporting a fire in the rear of a home at 1600 West Ave., including information that occupants may be trapped.
“That always perks up our ears,” Walker said.
Sgt. Brian Teeney arrived on scene and ran toward the house, up the stairs and toward the front door to make contact with any victims. While doing so, he observed two people leaving the building and another leaving through a sliding glass door onto a balcony. It turned out to be Police Lt. Pete Kardas, who was off-duty but lives across the street. He had responded to the scene and entered the home to evacuate any occupants.
“At a great risk to their own safety, Sgt. Teeney and Lt. Kardas re-entered the home through the balcony to ensure all occupants were out of the building,” Campbell said. “Due to the advancing fire and deteriorating smoke conditions, they were forced to exit.”
Fire Department personnel arrived shortly and were able to treat the victims.
“Lt. Kardas and Sgt. Teeney put the safety and lives of the residents of the home before their own, making sure everyone was out of the building as the fire rapidly spread,” Campbell said.
But that wasn’t all of the drama that happened that day, as the blaze was still raging.
A Platoon BC-1, Engines 1, 2 and 3, Truck 1 and Ambulances 1 and 2 all responded to the scene and quickly initiated search and rescue as well as fire-suppression operations.
Because of the extent of the fire, a full department recall of all off-duty personnel was initiated and mutual aid was requested from the Marmora Volunteer Fire Company and Margate City Fire Department.
Acting Capt. Nick Foglio and his assigned crew on Truck 1 were directed to search the second floor of the attached structure for possible victims.
While the search was being conducted, all personnel were ordered to take a defensive position and leave the building. Foglio directed his crew to leave via a stairwell off an exterior deck.
While waiting for his crew to get to safety, the pressure-relief valve on a nearby propane tank activated due to the heat and flames, leading to a rapid increase in the volume of the fire.
“This rapid increase was fueled by the highly pressurized blowtorch effect of the activated propane tank relief valve,” Walker said.
The resulting increase cut off Foglio’s access to the porch stairs and only means of egress.
“He remained calm and called for a ladder to be placed to the second-floor deck,” Walker said. “Acting Capt. Foglio was able to rely on his training, located an area of refuge, transmitted his urgent message and ultimately used the ladder to exit the dangerous situation.”
— Sept. 25-Oct. 11, 2024: NJTF-1 team
Firefighter Matthew Long was honored for participating in a New Jersey Task Force One team in response to Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C.
Long was one of the highly trained members of the team consisting of firefighters, doctors and law enforcement personnel who respond to emergencies across the nation.
The category 4 hurricane brought strong winds, torrential rain and devastating flooding to part of the Southeast, wiping out communities and affecting millions of lives.
During search and rescue operations, Long dealt with issues such as swift water, structural collapse and recovery.
Walker said there was little to no working infrastructure in the area during Long’s 17-day deployment.
“Not only did firefighter Long and his team members have to endure extremely challenging physical conditions but also the mental stress associated with death, loss, devastation and being away from their families for an extended period of time,” Walker said.
Long, who was absent from the recognition ceremony while teaching in France, provided an account of his efforts.
“I was deployed directly from duty at Station 2 with just enough time to go home and say goodbye to my family. I departed NJTF-1 headquarters at 12 a.m. and arrived in Asheville the following evening at 6 p.m. without sleeping for 38 hours. Operations began the next morning at 5:30 a.m.
“During 16 consecutive 14-hour operational periods, we made 11 live rescues. We also recovered 10 human remains searching hundreds of building and thousands of vehicles, including vehicles that were submerged after 27 feet of water flooded the downtown area.
“We operated in all of the following capacity: swift-water rescue, boat operations, structural collapse, shoring, breaking and breaching, rope rescue, heavy rigging and wide area search.
“We searched over 800 square miles mostly on foot. Our team was assigned to find 11 missing people and we recovered all but one, that was found in an area outside of our operational grid months later,” Long wrote.
“It was an honor to represent my home town in such a large operation and be entrusted by our leaders and members to wave our flag in such a time of need so far away,” he concluded.
Others honored
Police: Lt. Joshua Clark, Sgt. Sean Donohue, Tim Sharpe, James Crowley III, John DuPont, Ryan Lutz, Alexandra Sharp, Jeff Doto, Ethan Gallagher, Paul Stryker, Eric Puga, telecommunicators Mark Newman and Rachel Anderson.
Fire: Capt. Ray Clark, Matthew Rinck, Michael Carmody, Christopher Spiers, Capt. Jason Boyle, George Karpinski, Trevor Ermelin, Brian Day, Keenan Murray, Capt. Ryan Stamm, Bryan Braun, Ryan Lenegan, Daniel Boardman, Capt. Daniel Schallawitz, Kevin Muller, Acting Capt. William Wasekanes, Eric Masters, EMT Winston Roberts, Capt. Daniel Coan, Wallace Gilchrist, Charles Dahl, Thomas Tillis, Robert Bender, Capt. Ryan Kampmeyer, Brian Warley.
Beach patrol: Capt. Brian Pasternak, Lt. Bill Stahl, Lt. Mike Yeager, Lt. Frank Christy, Lt. Alex Oves, Mark Jamieson, EMT Greg Filipski, EMT Dale Paterson, Noah Brown, Lana Davidson, Michael Fiscus.
–STORY and PHOTOS by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
