Washington, D.C. (May 6, 2014) -- Yesterday, in a ceremony held at the Pentagon, Carl Marchlewicz received the Secretary of the Army's Award for Valor for saving six children from a house fire. The award was presented to Marchlewicz by the Honorable Brad R. Carson, the Under Secretary of the Army, almost one year to the date of the fire.
Marchlewicz and his wife Judy were enjoying a typical spring day on May 7, 2013 day when they heard a loud banging on their front door.
"It was one of the kids that had just moved in next door. We could see that she was pretty upset and she told us that their kitchen was on fire. I immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher, and my wife and I headed next door," said Marchlewicz.
Marchlewicz, a self proclaimed "safety guy" who supports the Army's Abrams tank program, has a long history of product development and test within the Army and private industry. He credited this experience for the series of fire extinguishers stationed all over his home and garage, and his ability not to panic in the face of fire.
"When you're testing vehicles, things can go wrong quickly and fires are a possibility. So you learn not to panic when fires happen. The key is to be prepared," said Marchlewicz.
When Marchlewicz and his wife entered their neighbor's home, it had already been engulfed in smoke forcing them to bend over in order to breathe. Making their way through the house they found the kitchen and realized that the fire had spread from the stove and had begun to melt the cabinets and the microwave.
"I took the fire extinguisher and hit the fire with a blast. It went out for a moment but then quickly came back, easily three times bigger. So I hit it with a series of blasts and that took care of what I could see. But, we had no idea what was burning inside the walls or cabinets…areas that we couldn't see. With that being taken care of we found a second child and exited," said Marchlewicz.
Once Marchlewicz, his wife, and the second child were outside joining the girl who had alerted them to the fire in the first place, they thought the worst was over. That's when the children told them they had a brother and sister still in the home on the main floor in a rear bedroom.
Without hesitation Marchlewicz charged back into the smoked filled home, not knowing if the fire had returned, to find two more children. After locating the two children and safely evacuating them he was told there were still two more children in the basement.
Once again without thought to his own safety or welfare, Marchlewicz charged back into the house.
"When I entered the house for the third time I found the last two children in the basement. They had been asleep and were completely unaware of the fire. I quickly woke them and we headed out to safety," said Marchlewicz.
By the time Marchlewicz and the last two children exited the house the fire department had arrived.
"Carl made our job a little easier that day and is a hero in our eyes," said Capt. Paul Sinda of the Warren Fire Department.
Brig. Gen. David Bassett, the Army's Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems, described Marchlewicz' immediate actions, selfless bravery and disregard for his own safety a heroic action.
"His valiant actions on that day are an amazing reflection of the civilian workforce that supports our Soldiers on a daily basis. I cannot express how proud we are to have him as a member of our team."
Marchlewicz has worked as a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Army for more than a decade. He is employed by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) supporting the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems within the Project Manager, Armored Brigade Combat Team. Marchlewicz is currently supporting the Abrams System Enhancement Package Version 3 Engineering Change Proposal 1 program, and has a long history of product development and test.
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