We are excited to announce our May Nominate a Hero winner is…
Francis Cheney!
Francis is a full-time firefighter and part-time nurse at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia. Before serving in these life-saving capacities, Fran was a Paramedic. Firefighting runs in Fran’s family. His father was a retired Philadelphia Fire Department Captain who served for more than 30 years.
On July 4, 2012, Fran entered a smoke-filled home and heard a woman in distress on the 2nd floor. When Fran found her, she was trapped, panicked and out of breathe from breathing in too much smoke. In a split-second decision, Fran took a big breath, removed his tank and put it on the woman. Both got out safely, although Fran was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Fran later met the woman he saved, and presented her with about $500 of his own overtime pay to help her and her family.
On April 9, Fran was injured in a warehouse fire. He was inspecting an adjacent building to the warehouse when the wall and roof began to fall. Fran was buried in the rubble but managed to dig himself out. Two of Fran’s Ladder 10 firefighter brothers, Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney, were killed in the fire and and Firefighter Patrick Nally sustained serious injuries. Fran was able to return to work 3 weeks later. Fran donated his Hero of the Month prize money to the Philadelphia Firefighters Local 22 Widow’s Fund.
With the death of 19 Prescott Firefighters in the Yarnell Hill wildfire, yesterday marked the most deadly day for US Firefighters since September 11, 2001. Today, our thoughts are with the Prescott families, friends and community. We salute the brave and heroic actions of these Arizona firefighters and all firefighters- the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to protect our lives, homes and property. Please take just a moment today to recognize their bravery and sacrifice. Rest in Peace.
Prescott Firefighters
We will update this page with information about how to help the Prescott families and community as soon as it becomes available.
Voting is now closed! You may still share the heroes’ pages, but votes will not count. We will be announcing the winner soon! Keep an eye out for our July Finalists later this week!
How to vote for Captain Don: Simply “share” this page on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. You can share once per social network. We’ll keep track, and the finalist with the most shares will win! Use the “Sharing is Caring” buttons at the bottom of this post to make sure they count!
Captain Don is a 20-year fire veteran and currently serves as a Fire Captain and Paramedic. During a service trip abroad in 2004, Captain Don was frustrated by the lack of equipment & training available to firefighters abroad. So he started working on a new calling: Global Mission Readiness. Using their own time off, money, and equipment, Don and his team of 60 volunteers has traveled to 12 countries to complete 21 missions. Each year, this team of firefighters, EMS personnel, Nurses and … teach tens of thousands of people the art of being a firefighter. The nonprofit operates solely on donations and also teaches first aid, specialty rescue and preparedness- with a strong emphasis on self-reliance.
Please note – we’ve changed the voting requirements this month. In order to vote, you’ll have to create an account and log in to vote. Once you register, you’ll be taken directly to the voting page.
Don’t want to register? You can still see the voting results – just click here.
Fran C. | Pennsylvania Firefighter & Nurse
On July 4, 2012, Fran entered a smoke-filled home and heard a woman in distress on the 2nd floor. When Fran found her, she was trapped, panicked and out of breathe from breathing in too much smoke. In a split-second decision, Fran took a big breath, removed his tank and put it on the woman. Both got out safely, although Fran was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Fran later met the woman he saved, and presented her with about $500 of his own overtime pay to help her and her family. Fran became a firefighter after following in the footsteps of his retired Fire Captain father.
When Fran isn’t fighting fires, he works as a part time Nurse at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Before becoming a full time firefighter, he worked as a Paramedic.
Nancy J. | Wisconsin Educator
Nancy J. has been enthusiastically servings as the Arrowhead High School Choir Director for almost 30 years. Known for her passion and motivation, Nancy works to make each and every student a part of the team. She uses creativity in her teaching to keep her high school students engaged and enthusiastic about the fine arts. Her hard work shows. Every year, choir performances pack the house and lines to buy performance tickets stretch out the door. Nancy goes above and beyond to highlight her students’ achievements: decorating the halls for their performances, taking headshots so they feel like stars, and accompanying them to weekend contests. Due to Nancy’s unceasing hard work, her high school’s choir and theatre programs have a reputation for greatness.
Corporal Stan P | Georgia Police Officer
When Officer Phillips answered a call about an aggressive dog, he arrived at the scene to find a vicious attack in progress. The dog was biting the victim, a 5-year-old little girl named Lilly, on the face and neck. Officer Phillips rushed to her aid and was able to free her from the dog. The girl was immediately airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, including a missing ear. After saving the girl’s life, Officer Phillips continued to go visit her in the hospital, despite the hour drive each way, and even arranged for donations to pay for her reconstructive surgery. After she was released from the hospital, Officer Phillips helped work with churches and charities to raise money for her continued recovery. Stan has worked on a crime suppression units, SWAT, and road patrols (among others) and coworkers note his dedication and noteworthy impact on high crime areas- calling him a ‘go to’ guy in the field.
When shots rang out in the hospital where Robert works, his first thought was the victim’s safety. As others dropped to the floor, Robert ran to aid of the gunshot victim- a physician who worked at the hospital. After rushing to get his patient to a safe location to receive medical attention, Robert took cover and provided comfort to distraught nursing students. Robert’s coworkers say this kind of heroic action is not out of character for a man who cares deeply about his patients. Robert is an integral member of the Haiti Outreach Mission (HOM). HOM works to bring mobile clinics to distant mountain locations where Robert helps triage patients in need. Closer to home, Robert also speaks out on behalf of his patients, many of whom are victims of violence, by speaking at anti-violence rallies.
Please note – we’ve changed the voting requirements this month. In order to vote, you’ll have to create an account and log in to vote. Once you register, you’ll be taken directly to the voting page.
Don’t want to register? You can still see the voting results – just click here.
Name: Jeff B.
Profession: Volunteer Firefighter/EMT
In 2012, Jeff responded to a medical emergency. As the 34-year volunteer Firefighter and EMT loaded his patient into an ambulance, a nearby fire truck popped out of gear and started to roll. As the truck came towards them both, Jeff shoved his patient out of the way- saving her life as he took the entire brunt of the impact. The force of the hit pinned Jeff between the vehicles, breaking both femurs, two bones in one shin and his pelvis in two spots. After several surgeries and months of recovery, Jeff’s surgeon told him his injuries would prevent him from firefighting. He now continues to work full time as a director of sales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgALcX84IpI
Name: Angela W.
Profession: EMT
Emergency Medical Technician Angela W. was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer on her birthday last year. Angela faced her diagnosis with bravery and determination, muscling through radiation and chemotherapy with resolve and an upbeat attitude. Angela even returned to work as an EMT while still undergoing treatment. Some days, she would head to work for 12 or 24-hour shifts straight from radiation therapy. Now a breast cancer survivor, Angela thanks her immediate family and her EMS family for their support and encouragement during her recovery.
Name: September S.
Profession: Registered Nurse
September is a registered nurse raising three children while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. As her husband puts it, “If superwoman did exist on this planet, her alter ego is September.” Watch the video below to hear directly from him what makes this Nurse such a hero:
Name: Steve H.
Profession: Educator
Steve is a Special Ed Behavioral Disorders teacher working with students of all ages. His coworkers describe Steve’s effect on his students as ‘amazing.’ Fellow teachers point out that his students are prepared and confident after his classes. They note the ‘happy changes’ that Steve helps his students make- changes that stay with them long after they have left his classroom. Steve not only teaches his students, he strives to make them feel important and needed. Outside of the classroom, Steve and his wife train guide dogs for the blind. So far, they have trained ten dogs- all of whom graduated on to the next level of training!
Name: Michael D.
Profession: Law Enforcement
In September 2012, San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies were attempting to arrest a suspect when the suspect began shooting a high-powered rifle from a 2nd story window- hitting and wounding two officers. Off-duty SWAT Officer DeWitt, a member of the department’s Gang Suppression Team, happened to be driving by the scene in his SWAT vehicle when he noticed the disturbance. He immediately donned his vest, armed himself, and offered his service. Upon learning that an injured officer was still in the line of fire, DeWitt assembled a team, gave assignments, and proceeded in to retrieve the officer. The team reached the wounded officer, but realizing they were moving too slow, Officer DeWitt slung his weapon over his back–foregoing his own safety– to give full physical assistance and lessen the team’s time in the line of fire. While the team used DeWitt’s first aid kit to attend to the officer’s injuries, DeWitt noticed a woman and two small children running from the apartment complex in panic. Realizing that they were running into the line of fire, DeWitt left his position of safety to run and pick up one child as the woman carried the other to safety. DeWitt then returned to the apartment complex to make sure the second wounded officer was being cared for. He was nominated by his fellow law enforcement officers who note his extreme bravery, leadership, and judgment skills.
In our day-to-day work with Firefighters, we kept hearing more and more about budget cuts. With increasingly smaller budgets, firefighters were putting all their limited resources towards life-saving gear and equipment, and–not surprisingly–their firehouses were not the top priority. So back in 2012, we teamed up with Sherwin Williams, Maytag, and FireRescue TV to put together a $15,000 Firehouse Makeover. It was just one small way for us to say ‘Thank You’ to firefighters and make their homes away from home a little more… ‘home-y.’
Well, after months of talking about our Firehouse Makeover, we finally picked a winner! Firefighter Tameka “Ron” Cody of the Thomson, Georgia FD was our first Firehouse Makeover winner. Members of our team–along with Fire Chief Rick Sewell, Thomson mayor Kenneth Usry, members of the City Council and just about every city employee in town–gathered to surprise Ron with the news of his win. From there, the real work got started. Just a few short weeks later, we headed back out to Thomson to reveal the results with the Thomson Community and the famous Maytag Repairman.
We had such a great time working with the Thomson Fire Department renovating their firehouse. We are so grateful to the community for helping us thank these firefighters.
Now it’s time for our SECOND Firehouse Makeover! Next time, it could be YOUR station! To enter to win the next Firehouse Makeover, click here. Our next drawing will be in October 2013. Good luck!
