Montgomery County Public Safety Heroes Honored at 43rd Annual Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Public Safety Awards

County Executive Ike Leggett joined County Fire & Rescue at the annual County Public Safety Awards. Joining Leggett were (left to right) FF/R Enrique Escolero, FF/R David Braun, Fire Captain/Paramedic William Cooke, FF/R David Wakeley, and County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein.

Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) recognized local public safety personnel for acts of bravery and heroism at their 43rd Annual Public Safety Awards luncheon held on March 31. The awards honored members of the Montgomery County Department of Police, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, The Sheriff’s Office, Maryland National Capital Park Police-Montgomery County Division and the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.

In total, there were 21 Valor Award Recipients for eight incidents, three Unit Citations and one MCCC Public Safety Community Service Award.

Two of the incidents for which first responders received awards included the shootings at the Westfield Montgomery Mall and Aspen Hill shopping centers that occurred in May, 2016 and the Flower Branch Apartments explosion/fire that occurred in August, 2016 of last year in Silver Spring.

Body camera video of the police response to the explosion/fire was released for the first time at the event.

A five-minute version is available for viewing at: Emergency Response to 2016 Silver Spring Explosion/Fire Including Body-Camera Footage (Edited):

and a full 18-minute video is available at: Emergency Response to 2016 Silver Spring Explosion/Fire Including Body-Camera Footage (Full Version):



See the 43rd Annual Chamber of Commerce Awards program for more detailed information regarding the awards and award recipients.