Firefighters honored with Medal of Valor

By Jennifer Bain
New York Post

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder present the Medal of Valor to Firefighter Peter Demontreaux of the New York City Fire Department

WASHINGTON — A Brooklyn firefighter - who fought his way through 1,000-degree heat to rescue a trapped brownstone resident - will get the nation's highest award for a public-safety officer at a Washington ceremony today.

Peter Demontreux, who had previously been honored with a New York Post Liberty Medal, will receive the Medal of Valor from Vice President Joe Biden, the White House said.

Demontreux, of Brooklyn's Ladder Co. 132, "executed one of the most remarkable rescues ever witnessed," when he searched through a blazing Putnam Avenue apartment, located a badly burned victim and carried the person to safety even while heat roasted his protective bunker coat, according to a Medal of Valor ceremony description.

"It felt very rewarding," Demontreux said yesterday of the Aug. 30, 2010, rescue that also left him badly burned.

"I'm pretty excited to be heading to Washington. I'm happy to be picked for the medal and to be able to meet the vice president," added Demontreux, 32, a father of four who joined the FDNY in 2002.

Since the award was begun in 2003, 78 Medals of Valor have been granted.

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