Hamilton firefighters honored for saving man

HAMILTON -- The township honored a group of firefighters last week who rescued a man trapped in a coal pit at the PSE&G Mercer Generating Station near the Delaware River.

Twenty-one firefighters from the Rusling Hose, Groveville, DeCou, and Mercerville fire compa nies and 15 members of PSE&G's emergency response team were honored in a ceremony at town hall.

The honors recognized an inci dent on Jan. 21, when the firefighters took an emergency call from the power plant and found a bulldozer had fallen into a large coal pile at the site with the worker who was operating the machine trapped inside.

Firefighter Michael Kiernan of the Rusling Hose Company was strapped into a harness and lowered into the pit, after which he was able to free the trapped man, who was then lifted to safety. Kier nan received a special honor at the ceremony, which was hosted by Mayor John Bencivengo.

"Day in and day out (firefighters) come to work or respond to a call to help, knowing one very stark reality -- their own personal safety, and in fact, their own life, may be on the line. And yet they have cho sen a calling that risks so much to them personally, in order to protect the safety and well-being of all of us," Bencivengo said at the ceremony, according to a press release.

"(Kiernan) literally risked his life to ensure for the safe rescue of the victim involved in this incident. And for that, our entire community owes him a debt of gratitude."