Nassau County Officer wins Carnegie Medal

He crawled through a fire-swept, smoke-filled second-floor bedroom to rescue Lesley Berman in January 2010. She said she was certain she would have died without him.

"He saved my life and that is the bottom line," Berman, 57, told Newsday Wednesday. "I can tell you I am 100 percent sure I would have died."

That Berman didn't die was because four Nassau police officers -- Iovino, Charles Javorosky, Brian McQuade and Daniel Doerrie -- came to her rescue inside her burning home on Rugby Road in Westbury that January afternoon. And because Iovino selflessly crawled into the burning second-floor bedroom, which was filled with lethal, acrid smoke, and dragged Berman to safety.

The fund was established in 1904 by Pittsburgh-based industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and the medal is awarded to "those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others," according to the commission.

Recipients are selected from more than 80,000 nominees.

Six of the current recipients died in the performance of their heroic acts. To date 9,452 heroes have been named by the fund. Winners are also awarded $5,000. Last year, three Long Islanders received the award.

The blaze for which Iovino's rescue was reported in a 911 call. The four Nassau officers were first on the scene -- and were all later treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital.

According to the accounts of homeowner Bryan Berman that appeared in Newsday, his wife became trapped in a second-floor bedroom and yelled: "'Help! I'm trapped!' . . . 'I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!'"

Just then, Bryan Berman said, the four officers rushed into the burning home.

"No masks, no nothing," he said. "They went up and they basically dragged her down."

The account issued by the Carnegie Fund said the fire "filled the floor" of the second-floor bedroom with "dense smoke" and said that after Iovino and the three other officers reached the room it was Iovino who "went to his hands and knees and crawled into the room."

As the account said: "Sweeping with his hands, he located Berman on the floor about 15 feet into the room. He then stood, grasped Berman by the arms, and, guided by one of the other officers calling to him from the vicinity of the bedroom door, returned to the door, dragging Berman."

Lesley Berman was treated at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow for burns to her arms and legs.

The Nassau Fire Marshals Office said the fire was caused by the careless disposal of a cigarette. Bryan Berman told Newsday in the aftermath of the blaze that he hoped "these gentlemen get proper recognition for their heroic acts."

Asked what he would tell the officers, Berman told Newsday: "I thank you for being a hero and saving my wife's life . . . I'm all cried out already."

On Wednesday, Lesley Berman said that when she met Iovino following the rescue she told him: " 'I love you. I am forever grateful. You saved my life and I will love you forever.' I have a debt of gratitude."

By JOHN VALENTI
Posted Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Related info:
News 12 Coverage of the event

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