Names in the News

Firefighter MICHAEL SMITH, Jr. of the Richmond (VA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services received the Commonwealth Public Safety Meritorious Service Medal from Governor Timothy M. Kaine for his heroic actions on July 27, 2006. On that date, Smith, off-duty in Richmond’s Creighton Court neighborhood, heard a mother’s cry for help and immediately ran to a nearby apartment that was on fire. Smith, braving the heat and smoke, made several attempts to rescue a child trapped on the second floor. He finally succeeded by breaking a bedroom window with his bare hands, receiving severe lacerations that were nearly career-ending.www.vpsf.us.

Firefighter MICHAEL SMITH, Jr. of the Richmond (VA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services received the Commonwealth Public Safety Meritorious Service Medal from Governor Timothy M. Kaine for his heroic actions on July 27, 2006. On that date, Smith, off-duty in Richmond’s Creighton Court neighborhood, heard a mother’s cry for help and immediately ran to a nearby apartment that was on fire. Smith, braving the heat and smoke, made several attempts to rescue a child trapped on the second floor. He finally succeeded by breaking a bedroom window with his bare hands, receiving severe lacerations that were nearly career-ending.www.vpsf.us.

Firefighter MICHAEL SMITH, Jr. of the Richmond (VA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services received the Commonwealth Public Safety Meritorious Service Medal from Governor Timothy M. Kaine for his heroic actions on July 27, 2006. On that date, Smith, off-duty in Richmond’s Creighton Court neighborhood, heard a mother’s cry for help and immediately ran to a nearby apartment that was on fire. Smith, braving the heat and smoke, made several attempts to rescue a child trapped on the second floor. He finally succeeded by breaking a bedroom window with his bare hands, receiving severe lacerations that were nearly career-ending.www.vpsf.us.