12-06-2025
St. Paul firefighters nationally recognized for carrying kids from house fire
Two St. Paul firefighters have been recognized nationally with an award of valor.
Firefighters Jacob Ryks and Mason Conlin found multiple young children in a burning home in Payne-Phalen last year and carried them out.
'Despite the valiant efforts,' four of the six children died, said the award from Firehouse Magazine. Two of the children and their mother survived.
The Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor is named for a now-retired Worcester, Mass., fire department district chief.
It 'reflects a larger mission about what it means to be brave in the face of danger,' according to the magazine. McNamee 'displayed great courage at the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire in December 1999, when he made the bold decision to stop additional Worcester firefighters from entering the building when there already were six lost inside.'
It was the middle of the night on Jan. 3, 2024, when an unattended candle started a fire at a home on Arkwright Street near Maryland Avenue.
Ker Lor and her children became trapped in the home that was engulfed in flames and heavy smoke. The children were 1 to 6 years old and included a set of twins. Lor's husband, Pa Cheng Vang, was at work.
Ryks forced his way into the home as Conlin prepared a firehose. In the first bedroom, Ryks felt around and found a child on a bed, who he carried outside to turn over for care. He went back into the same room, encountered a bunkbed and found another child who he carried outside.
'With water on the fire, Conlin peeled off and began to search, when he found a child in another bedroom and carried the individual outside,' Firehouse Magazine said in the commendation. 'He continued to search. Instincts kicked in, and he unraveled a blanket and found another child, who he brought to medics outside.'
Ryks went back again to the room where he found two children and located another child. A firefighter and captain found the sixth child and Lor.
The two firefighters have also been recognized locally, with the MN 100 Club presenting First Responder of the Year Awards to them in St. Paul in November.
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