CENTER VALLEY — In a ceremony Oct. 14, awards were presented to eight individuals who risked their lives to save others, plus a fire chief who has devoted his life to prevention and a burn survivor who gives back to the community that saved her.
The Valley Preferred Spirit of Courage awards, created by Burn Prevention Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and Valley Preferred, were presented at DeSales University. Spirit of Courage awards, which were presented to eight individuals, honor local heroes who have risked their lives to save others from burn injury or death.
Schuylkill County winner
Mark Hysock, an officer with the Shenandoah Borough Police Department, received a Spirit of Courage Award. Around midday on Dec. 22, 2023, firefighters in northern Schuylkill County were dispatched to a reported house fire with entrapment in the village of Shenandoah Heights in West Mahanoy Township.
Hysock was on patrol when the call came in, and he immediately responded to assist. Hysock, who is also a volunteer firefighter for the Shenandoah Rescue Hook and Ladder Co., entered the duplex wearing only his police uniform and made his way to the third floor. He crawled down a smoke-filled hallway and found an 18-month-old child in the bedroom that was on fire. He grabbed the child and crawled to safety, just as the firefighters began to arrive.
The child was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest. Hysock is credited with saving the child’s life.
Other award winners
Reeva Gupta, the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed her mother, was awarded the Walter J. Okunski Phoenix Award, recognizing her outstanding work in the burn survivor community.
The Partners in Prevention Award was presented to John Bast, retired fire chief for the Easton Fire Department, for his service and dedication to educating community members about fire safety and burn prevention. Special guest John Salka shared his experience as a 33-year firefighter and former battalion chief with the Fire Department of the City of New York.
“With the help of generous donors and sponsors, Burn Prevention Network is proud to provide the Valley Preferred Spirit of Courage Awards along with burn prevention and support services,” said Corissa Rolon, CEO and executive director of BPN.
“We are grateful to be able to celebrate each and every individual at this event and are privileged to share this year’s honorees’ inspirational stories,” she said.
For 19 years, the spirit of courage awards ceremony has honored heroes and burn survivors who have helped others in the burn community. As one of the most esteemed events in eastern Pennsylvania, it attracted more than 500 first responders (firefighters, EMTs, police officers), burn care providers and businesspeople from the Lehigh Valley and across the state of Pennsylvania. A duo of emcees, Mark Shepperd and Blakely McHugh, hosted the event. Along with being a radio personality with 101.1 MORE-FM, Shepperd is also a firefighter with King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company Station No. 47 and has been an emcee of the spirit of courage awards nearly since its inception.
BPN presents the annual VPSOC award program in partnership with Valley Preferred and LVHN. Additional sponsors this year included: Gold sponsors, East Allen EMS, Kerecis and Service Electric Cablevision; and Silver sponsors, Kistler O’Brien Fire Protection and MedEvac.
Visit burnprevention.org to hear them tell their stories.
Burn Prevention Network is a Pennsylvania statewide 501(c) 3 nonprofit. It has a nearly 40-year history of successful program and service delivery and is one of the most respected burn nonprofits in the U.S. Its mission is to reduce the risk for burns and empower burn survivors and their families.