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by MELISSA ANELLI
When a ruthless fire destroyed a Tompkinsville home in March, Lt. Patrick Fitzsimmons and Firefighter Peter Fallucca of Ladder Co. 77 found and recovered two badly injured victims, only one of whom survived.
So while both were honored to receive the Advance Firefighter of the Month Award yesterday, they called the recognition bittersweet.
"We wish this was a more happy outcome," said Fitzsimmons. "It's unfortunate that we lost anybody."
Each rescuer was awarded a $100 savings bond yesterday in the Advance's Grasmere offices, during the newspaper's second Firefighter of the Month ceremony since the award was revived.
On March 10, with a blaze engulfing the basement of 46 Brook St. and threatening the rest of the house, Fitzsimmons and Fallucca, acting on the radio transmissions of their chief, William Reilly, pressed into the inferno to find the two residents who remained inside.
"The conditions were about as severe as they get," Reilly said.
The men retrieved Maude and Lindsey Coberland, mother and daughter who were sleeping in the same bed when a fire broke out in the basement underneath them.
Maude was badly injured but survived; 5-year-old Lindsey died of smoke inhalation that morning at St. Vincent's Hospital in West Brighton.
Yesterday was the second time Fallucca received the award in as many months.
"I got lucky. Anytime you save somebody, you get lucky," he said. "The radio reports make you push a little harder, go a little deeper."
Fitzsimmons stressed that the rescue at the fire was a team effort.
"It's all part of the job, but it's nice when they do recognize you for it," he said.
Advance City Editor Dean Balsamini presented the awards.
"There's not enough we can do to thank you," he said. "It's very simple: We appreciate everything you do."
Both men attended the short ceremony with their families and several FDNY colleagues. While Fallucca talked to a reporter, his daughter, Vanessa, looked up at him and told him it was time to celebrate.
"It's an honor. It's a morale-booster for the Fire Department and for our house in general," he said.
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