Rochester NY Workers Honored for Heroism

[Omaha Steve]

TRUE HEROES – Rochester city environmental services employees Eliud Rodriguez, (left) Derek Hardy and Robert Wright hold the plaques they received from Council 66 for saving nine people from a terrible apartment fire last November.

Photo Credit: Don McNamara


http://www.afscme.org/publications/17597.cfm

February 8, 2008

Three Rochester environmental services employees – members of AFSCME Local 1635 (Council 66) – have been honored by their city and their union for rescuing eight adults and a child from a burning apartment building last November.

Mayor Robert Duffy recently presented the keys of the city to Eliud Rodriguez, 57, and Derek Hardy, 3l; and gave a special recognition award to Robert Wright, 60. The men also received plaques from Council 66.

In this account of their bravery by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Mayor Duffy says:

“They put their lives on the line. They are truly great examples of the men and women who work in city government.”

Normally, the refuse collectors don’t work on Saturdays, but because of the Thanksgiving holiday, that’s what they were doing early in the morning when Rodriguez first spotted the fire and called his dispatcher, and then rushed to the apartment building. Hardy and Wright arrived moments later in another refuse truck and immediately helped. When firefighters arrived, the men had rescued all nine residents, none of whom were harmed. Of the rescuers, only Rodriguez required treatment for smoke inhalation.

None of the men consider themselves heroes:

“Heroes are over in the war, fighting for us,” Wright says he told the mayor. “I’m just a public servant.”

“I think anybody put in the same situation would have done the same exact thing,” adds Rodriguez.

“I just did what I would wish someone would do for me or my family if circumstances were the opposite,” says Hardy. “Knowing all those folks up there had been sleeping, it was definitely a good thing we were working that day.”

For more, read this account by UPI: http://www.newsdaily.com/TopNews/UPI-1-20071125-16470200-bc-us-heros.xml