Nine Columbus firefighters were recognized yesterday for extraordinary acts in the line of duty.

Capt. Lawrence Francisco, Lt. Michael Burnheimer, and firefighters Stephen Bennison, James Kranyik, Scott Kulpa, Brian Morstadt, Bryan Sullivan, Barry Webster and Danny Whiteside were selected to receive “Firehouse” magazine’s Heroism and Community Service Awards.

“Firehouse” is a national publication, and it sponsors the Heroism and Community Service Award program annually. The program is the largest of its kind in the United States.

During a presentation at the Columbus Division of Fire administration building, fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. presented each of the firefighters with a medal and a certificate for their heroism.

Each year the Columbus Division of Fire nominates several firefighters for this award.

“The Division of Fire submits an application along with a scenario and a drawing of the actual event to the magazine,”spokeswoman Kelly McGuire said.

Once “Firehouse” has all the applications, they go before a selection committee and determine the winners, McGuire said.

Burnheimer, Kulpa and Morstadt were selected because of their actions at a house fire on 17th Avenue which killed five students. Upon their arrival at the house they were notified that there were several people trapped on the second floor. Without a hose, they entered the second floor from the rear of the house and began looking for victims.

With conditions on the floor quickly deteriorating because of high heat and low visibility, Burnheimer located a female victim and carried her to safety. He returned to help Kulpa rescue a second person, who. Kulpa found in a bedroom and then carried to the hallway as the fire was extending before him. He placed his body over the victim, and, with the help of Burnheimer, pulled the person to safety.

Morstadt and Kulpa then carried out a third victim and began resuscitative efforts.

The fire flashed from the second floor just after the firefighters had exited. Burnheimer, Kulpa and Morstadt saved three lives that night.

Francisco and Sullivan were selected because they saved a man who became trapped in an elevator well, after being struck by the elevator car, which had dropped three floors. Sullivan sqeezed through a 10-inch opening to reach the victim. With minimal equipment and an unstable work area, Sullivan did emergency work on the elevator and began working on the victim. After 30 minutes the elevator was lifted 10 feet. Francisco entered the well to help Sullivan secure and rescue the man after several failed attempts to stabilize the elevator.

Bennison, Kranyik and Webster were honored for their efforts to rescue an unconscious victim in a basement filled with fumes from lacquer work. Once the victim was out of the basement the firefighters were able to revive him.

Whiteside was selected for his efforts to save two elderly women from a house fire. While visiting a relative out of town, Whiteside’s wife noticed smoke and fire coming from a neighbor’s house. While she called 911, Whiteside rushed into the house and, without any protection, led the women to safety. He grabbed an extinguisher and attempted to put the second-floor fire out, but the smoke and fire were too heavy. He left the house and noticed one of the women had returned to try to rescue some personal belongings. He led her to safety and then attemped to extinguish the fire two more times. When the local fire department arrived he led them to the fire.

The Columbus Divison of Fire nominated 10 firefighters for the award. There were only 11 firefighters in the state of Ohio to recieve the award. The other two recipients were from Toledo and Cambridge.