Featured Story

Orient firefighters honored for helping save three men in 2018 water rescue

Orient Fire Department members Richard Gillooly and Angel Medina were awarded the Bronze Medal of Valor by the Vocational Educational and Extension Board of Suffolk County for their heroism during an April 2018 water rescue.

A parallel proclamation was presented by Southold Town during a ceremony at Captain Bill’s in Bay Shore on Nov. 11.

Mr. Gillooly and Mr. Medina assisted in saving three men whose 34-foot wooden boat had sunk in Plum Gut on a cold, blustery evening. The boat struck rocks and quickly took on water.

The firefighters responded in a 13-foot Achilles inflatable from the beach since their larger boats weren’t in the water yet. Mr. Medina suffered an injury during the rescue.

The firefighters and members of the Southold Town Police Department and Plum Island ferry were all honored for the rescue in May 2018.

Read more about the rescue here.

Photo caption: Chief Michael Prindle, from left, Richard Gillooly, Angel Medina and Chief John Bancroft. (Courtesy photo)