Firefighters honored for service during Ida
Plaques, proclamations presented to first responders during council meeting
NORRISTOWN » Fifteen Norristown Fire Department firefighters were honored Monday night for their service during Hurricane Ida.
Plaques were presented as proclamations detailing the local first responders’ accomplishments were read by Norristown Municipal Council President Derrick Perry.
“Well it’s always important … to recognize the members of the fire department who really put their lives on the line to go out and help the community in such a terrible time. The work that they did was just heroic,” said Norristown Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Thomas O’Donnell.
Much of the region was hit hard as Ida’s remnants came through the region on Sept. 1. The storm flooded homes and streets, knocked out power, downed trees, and manifested an EF-2 tornado that barreled through an eight-mile stretch of Horsham and Upper Dublin townships. The storm also caused loss of life: three deaths were reported in Montgomery County, and one Montgomery County resident died in nearby Bucks County.
Jason Wilson, deputy director of the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, told the trio of Montgomery County Commissioners back in October that the storm resulted in 9,034 calls coming into the county’s 911 dispatch center, with the greatest call volume between 6-7 p.m. on Sept. 1. In addition, 467 water rescues were conducted.
“That day was 36 hours; we worked continuously. The fire department was nonstop,” O’Donnell said. “We went to 40, 50 dispatch rescues. Probably rescued hundreds of people. I mean we were going from call to call to call.”
“It was definitely a night that I never thought that we would experience,” said Firefighter Anthony Molchany.
As the rain began falling on Sept. 1, Molchany said he initially anticipated some activity when he reported for his shift.
“But as the night kind of progressed, it just became more and more challenging I’ll say, and the rescues, and everything, just became more and more imminent,” he told MediaNews Group. “Everybody out there really needed us to come get them. They were stuck.”
The Schuylkill River in Norristown sat at 8.67 feet prior to the start of the Sept. 1 storm, according to Montgomery County Department of Public Safety’s Public Affairs Coordinator Todd Stieritz. The next morning, the National Weather Service reported the river had crested at 26.85, 13 feet above flood stage, with water covering bridges and streets.
“Norristown looks like an island,” O’Donnell said in a Sept. 2 interview.
Now four months later, a crowd of municipal officials, fellow firefighters and family members came together to honor these first responders during Monday night’s Norristown Municipal Council meeting.
“So tonight … is about recognizing the fabric of our community, our firefighters,” O’Donnell said.
Accolades for acts of valor and merit were presented, along with awards to units for distinguished service. Each firefighter recognized had their own unique experience when they trudged through floodwaters, helping those in need on that fateful night and into the hours of Sept. 2.
Molchany has been a firefighter for 17 years, and spent the last four working with the Norristown Fire Department. It was during that storm when recalled an instance where his skills were tested.
Molchany remembered heading with the department’s swift water rescue team to Whitpain Township to help Centre Square Fire Company firefighters save a man who’d grasping to a tree after getting caught in the rushing Wissahickon Creek.
Along with other agencies, Molchany said firefighters tried several times to reach the man in distress, but were unsuccessful.
“We opted to put the boats in the water. We waited for another swift water rescue team to help us set up an advance line system, the line system to rig the boat off, and we basically found an opening in a tree line,” he said. “We shot through still couldn’t reach him. So we ended up going into the water, myself and another firefighter, to go get him.”
“It was harrowing to say the least,” Molchany said.
“It’s those stories that really the meaning for what we do and how we do it,” O’Donnell said.
Pride was a recurring theme for Molchany as he reflected on his experience working during the storm.
“Honestly, it just makes me proud to be part of the department that I’m a part of,” he said. “I’m proud of the guys that I work with. None of that would have been possible without their level of skill, and their training, and the teamwork that we showed that night was second to none. It was truly awesome to be part of.”
Molchany’s family was also in attendance Monday night. His 2-year-old daughter Erin was by his side as he shook the hands of several municipal officials after receiving his plaque, and said his 6-year-old son Danny “wants to be a firefighter follow in my footsteps.”
After the ceremony concluded, many attendees left the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit conference room to chat and take photos. Then, it was back to work for several “on-call” firefighters, O’Donnell said.
“The families are going home and the firefighters are going back to a firehouse,” O’Donnell said. “So it’s that commitment, it’s that sacrifice that these guys make everyday, and I want to congratulate them all for such an exemplary job of really doing first class service to our residents.”