WEST HAVERESTRAW — The village’s volunteer firefighters are among those people who will be recognized with a special congressional commendation for their sacrifice, contributions and dedication to public service.

Rep. Nan Hayworth announced this week her intention to recognize exemplary first responders from New York’s 19th Congressional District.

Terence Michos, spokesman for Hayworth, said that in February, the congresswoman contacted local emergency service agencies to recommend names of first responders who have accomplished “conspicuous acts of valor or service.” About 100 nominations were submitted, and after careful review, honorees have been chosen.

A majority of the Rockland County honorees are those who responded to the Jan. 16 natural-gas explosion at the Village Fairgrounds II housing complex. They included West Haverstraw volunteer firefighters Kenneth Patterson and Jerry Knapp; Orange and Rockland Utilities gas troubleshooters Ian Mackey and Lee Stipek; the West Haverstraw Volunteer Fire Department; the Haverstraw Volunteer Ambulance Corps; and Rockland Mobile Care Paramedics.

West Haverstraw Fire Chief George Zayas called the recognition a “privilege and an honor for the members of the Fire Department.”

“I think everybody is in the same notion that we were just doing our job,” Zayas said. “But it’s nice to receive some acknowledgment because the entire department is all volunteers.”

Patterson, Knapp, Mackey and Stipek also have been recognized by the Assembly in a resolution honoring their heroic actions.

“I was very honored,” Patterson said of the standing ovation they received at the recent Assembly meeting. “But just remember: It’s not only about me and Jerry. ... It’s about everybody involved.”

Another West Haverstraw firefighter, Andrew Kolesar, was selected for the congressional commendation for his crucial January 2011 rescue of his fellow firefighter, Patterson. As Patterson searched for residents in the burning building, which later turned out to be illegally converted, he ran out of air and issued a mayday call.

The article as published by The Journal News can be found here.