Falconer fire chief Charles Piazza pictured at the scene of a structure fire in the town of Ellicott last year. Piazza and Chautauqua County Sheriff’s deputy Sephen Madonia were recently recognized for rescuing a woman from a structure fire. P-J file photo by Eric Tichy

First responders on both ends of Chautauqua County have been recognized for their recent heroics.

Charles Piazza, chief of the Falconer Fire Department, and deputy Stephen Madonia of the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office were honored by the County Legislature after rescuing a woman and her dogs from a structure fire May 12 in Kennedy. The incident flew under the radar for most outside of the fire service, though word of the rescue spread after the pair was recognized by legislators at their June meeting in Mayville.

Several area departments, including the Sheriff’s Office, were summoned to the home around 2:30 a.m. on Falconer Frewsburg Road to help douse the blaze.

According to Piazza, he and Madonia arrived at the home around the same time and quickly realized someone was still inside.

“The Sheriff’s Department got there first and I got there second,” Piazza told members of the Falconer Village Board last week when recounting the incident, “and upon further investigation we found there was a lady trapped inside because we could hear her.

“We forcibly got the door open and got her out safely within seconds of the house being fully involved (by fire),” he continued. “We were also able to get her three dogs out.”

Madonia received the Sheriff’s Office Medal of Valor for “intelligently and bravely distinguishing himself in the line of duty.”

The woman has not been identified.

Sheriff Joe Gerace said he was made aware of the rescue shortly after the fire and wanted to make sure both men were recognized. Because no press release detailing the fire was released (not all fires — especially ones early in the morning — end up being reported), the rescue initially went unnoticed outside the fire service.

That changed when the pair was brought to the legislature.

“I want to commend them for the heroic actions,” Gerace said. “They put themselves and their lives in peril to save the life of another.”

Piazza said this was the first time he had pulled someone from a burning home. “There’s a lot that goes through your mind,” Piazza told The Post-Journal. “We got her out and her dogs.”

Falconer Mayor James Rensel said he was proud of the men’s efforts to save the woman and her dogs. He said the village was fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers, noting that the department responded to 57 calls for service in June and 55 calls in May.

“I just think it’s important to be recognized by the legislature, which I had a chance to attend,” Rensel said at the Village Board meeting. “I was very proud of our Falconer fire chief and Madonia, and of the members of the Falconer Fire Department with the number of calls that are handled.”

“Sometimes I think we get a little spoiled with the people we have working in our fire district,” he said.

Elsewhere, Jim Tytka Jr. of the Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Department received a certificate of “Special Congressional Recognition” by U.S. Rep. Tom Reed. The recognition from Reed, R-Corning, was the result of a missing child incident June 7 in which a 2-year-old boy wandered from his home in Silver Creek.

Several police and fire agencies helped in the search; Tytka found the boy about a mile and a half away from his home in a ravine a couple hours after he was first reported missing.

Gerace at the time said the happy ending could have ended differently if not for the coordination of local resources.

“Everyone stepped up and put forth the effort to find the boy as quickly as possible,” he said.