Firefighters, emergency medical service personnel and members of the Maryland National Guard were honored today for their actions in a fire at the Dundalk Fire Station #6 during the record breaking snowstorm.

Fifteen individuals who were credited with extinguishing the fire and saving millions of dollars of equipment received executive citations and hero pins from Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith. Staff Sgt. Edward Graham and Spc. Sherie Peeks of the Maryland Army National Guard were assigned to the station for the storm.

“You’ve justified your training, you’ve justified your commitment to your profession,” said Smith. “You are all heroes.”

About 2:40 a.m. on Feb. 10, in the midst of round two of the recent snowstorms a two-alarm fire severely damaged the bay area of the Dundalk Fire Station. Personnel were in the living quarters when they heard the smoke alarm, saw the fire and heavy smoke in the engine bay, and evacuated the building. Firefighters were able to drive Engine 61 out of the bay, using it to combat the fire.

“I’m not a firefighter but I didn’t want to be just standing around. So I grabbed the hose and ran back in the building, helping (a firefighter) with the hose,” said Graham, a member of the Maryland Guard’s 29th Combat Aviation Brigade. “I’ve never been more proud to be in the military.”

The fire destroyed the engine bay area, a brush unit, a National Guard Humvee, and damaged Engine 6 and Medic 6. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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