Justin Berry named state Firefighter of the Year for rescue in Riverhead

He arrived at the scene with fellow Riverhead Fire Department firefighters to find the house on Doris Avenue ablaze and police evacuating a resident with her walker.

But when first responders learned a 77-year-old man was trapped inside the home, Lt. Justin Berry climbed through a rear window into a smoke-filled room, hoping he wasn't too late.

Months after the Dec. 30 rescue, which saw Berry, 27, pull the unconscious man from the home, the Riverhead native was in upstate Niagara, where Thursday he was named the 2023 Firefighter of the Year by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York.

The organization, founded in 1872, represents the more than 80,000 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel in the state.

This is the eighth time since 2013 a Long Island volunteer has been honored, joining a list that includes: John Curley, Bellmore, 2013; Thomas J. Gorman, Bohemia, 2014; Frederick Kopf, Baldwin, 2016; Joseph LaRocco, John Hansen, Jennifer O'Brien, Patrick Diecidue, Thomas Kriklava and Timothy Duckham, Smithown, 2017; Peter DiPinto, Sr., Brookhaven, 2018; Jason Bernfeld, Melville, 2019, and Mark Miller and John Tighe, Lindenhurst, 2021.

On Thursday, Berry was reluctant to be portrayed as a hero.

"It was just another day on the job," he said during a phone interview, adding: "You train for it every day ... I was just glad I could be there."

But Riverhead Chief Joe Hartmann had a different take on the seven-year department veteran.

"Without hesitation, he went in the back and did what he needed to do," Hartmann said. "Ever since he got here he always wanted to learn, always kept training. He gives 110% every day to the fire service. It's tough to be a volunteer, all the dedication, all the time, the commitment. You sacrifice being with family, friends. You miss holidays. But you do this because you want to, because you need to."

Climbing into the pitch-dark room, Berry said: "You keep yourself on a wall, so you know you can get back out. He [the victim] was close to the window, so when I went in through the window it wasn't long before I found him." The man was on the floor, unconscious, Berry said.

Officials said the young firefighter managed to cradle the resident and deliver him through the window to responders outside. The medics performed CPR and were able to revive the man. The fire ended up destroying what officials called a modest ranch-style home.

In command at the scene were Riverhead 1st Asst. Chief William Renten Jr. and 2nd Asst. Chief Piotr Kurzyna. Nearby departments provided mutual aid, while a rapid intervention team, fire marshals, EMS crews, Riverhead police and a crew from PSEG Long Island also responded to scene.

But it was Berry, who works full-time for the Town of Riverhead Sewer District, who helped turn around a day that could have ended tragically.

"Lieutenant Berry acted heroically and selflessly to rescue this individual," FASNY President Ed Tase Jr. said in a statement, adding: "His intervention and quick actions saved this person's life."

"They needed him to go in there and he just reacted," Hartmann said. "It's a testimony to everything volunteers do on Long Island. And, in Riverhead, all that our firefighters do for our community."

The ever-modest Berry did all he could Thursday to downplay his role. "It just shows," he said, "that your training does pay off."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”