The Town of Haverstraw and Rockland County Emergency Services offered a special thanks and honor to Haverstraw’s own Andrew Kolesar for his bravery in saving a fellow firefighter from a blaze in 2011. Kolesar received a Medal of Valor at a special ceremony Monday at Town Hall. He has already been named Volunteer Firefighter of the Year by several organizations.
On Jan. 14, 2011 rescue of downed fellow firefighter Capt. Ken Patterson of Volunteer Hose Co. 2, West Haverstraw FD. Patterson became trapped in the second floor of 333 Westside Ave., Haverstraw, searching for victims, when his air tank ran out. Kolesar, using a thermal imagining camera, found Patterson and dragged him to safety. Kolesar, a former chief of the West Haverstraw FD, has also been recognized for his actions by Rockland County, the Rockland County Fire Chiefs Assn., and his own fire company. Kolesar resides in the Village of Haverstraw with his wife and two children. He is a New York City firefighter who works in Spanish Harlem in Manhattan. He is also an instructor at the Rockland County Fire Training Center.
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