Countywide : Top Awards Go to Two Firefighters

While Orange County Battalion Chief Chuck Nicola attempts to improve teamwork during natural disasters, Anaheim Fire Captain Jerry D. Austin participates in affirmative action committees and in Salvation Army fund-raisers for the needy.

For their efforts, the veteran firefighters last week were honored with the county’s highest firefighting awards. Nicola was named Orange County Firefighter of the Year and Austin received the Msgr. John Sammon award.

Nicola, 45, is responsible for creating the Orange County Search and Rescue Task Force, one of 25 in the country, under the direction and funding of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He leads the 2-year-old team, made up of 56 members including firefighters from agencies throughout the county, emergency room physicians, heavy equipment operators, sheriff’s deputies, search dogs and public works specialists.

They’ve all have been trained to work together in responding to natural disasters anywhere in the country.

Nicola was instrumental in soliciting the funds to purchase a lipstick-sized video camera that can be inserted in small crevices to check if people are trapped, a seismic acoustic device that picks up noises such as people scratching or knocking, a concrete-cutting chain-saw and other equipment that enable a higher rate of rescues and safety of the task force.

He has trained more than 300 firefighters to use task-force techniques and equipment for searches and rescues.

Porfirio Vidal, the man who was trapped up to his neck in a trench that collapsed in Santa Ana two months ago, was saved by Nicola-trained firefighters.

“We’ve had some successes and we’re not killing firefighters in the process,” said Nicola, a 26-year veteran. “This is all good for the big earthquake that we’re all holding our breaths for because we’ll have a tremendous capability to save lives.”

Austin, 39, spends his time thinking about how he can help his community in a different manner.

He created the Anaheim Fire Department’s annual “Caroling for Cans” campaign in which community volunteers, loaded on fire trucks, drive through neighborhoods singing Christmas carols and collecting canned goods and toys for the needy during the holiday season.

He serves as an administrative director for a nonprofit day-care center in Santa Ana, which serves low- to moderate-income families, and is chairman of the recruitment committee of the Equal Opportunity Human Relations Commission for his department.

“I want to encourage as many minorities as possible to join the fire service,” said Austin, who teaches a fire science class at Rancho Santiago College. “Everyone deserves a chance.”

The 19-year veteran who grew up in a poor family of 10 said he loves helping people. “We’re all human beings and I like putting smiles on people’s faces,” he said.

Austin, whose home was set afire by a firecracker in 1982, developed a handout that tells victims what to do when their homes burn.

He is often seen talking to victims, letting them know that “everything will be OK.”

Austin “just has a good heart,” Anaheim Capt. Web Whitlock said. “He really cares about everyone.”

Peers nominated the two men for the awards sponsored by the Orange County Firemen’s Assn.

“The people that work with (Austin and Nicola) picked them out for being dedicated employees and for giving back to the society that they live in,” said Fountain Valley Fire Chief Richard E. Jorgensen, who coordinated the award nominations.