Capt. Charles J. Metivier, Rescue Operator Kalani Abreu, and Rescue Specialists Roy Constantino and Francisco Garcia of Fire Rescue 3 of the County of Kaua’i Fire Department were honored this morning with the 2010 International Benjamin Franklin Fire Service Award for Valor — the highest honor bestowed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

On Aug. 1, 2009, Rescue 3 was notified of an overdue ultra-light flight. A local pilot and student were last reported at 5,000 feet trying to fly through a hole in the clouds to Hanapepe Valley, a heavily wooded area with a thick forest canopy. There was no GPS device or emergency beacon on board.

Combing the dense rainforest from an island helicopter for 45 minutes, Rescue 3 spoted debris scattered along a ridge in a deep ravine. Constantino and Garcia were short-hauled into a stream bed below the crash site, but the 80-degree slope and 30-knot winds forced them to be pulled up and lowered through the forest canopy above the crash.

The winds and rain intensify as Constantino and Garcia worked their way along the steep slope before finding two survivors trapped under the wrecked plane. Clinging to the hillside and losing traction in the slippery undergrowth, they reached the first man. He as badly injured, with broken legs and ribs. Constantino and Garcia secured him so he wouldn’t slide into the rushing waters below, bound his legs to form a splint, pulled him from the wreckage, and placed him in a rescue seat and harness so he can be extricated to a temporary landing site.

Then another dispatch came in. A hunter with a possible broken leg was stranded on a ridge 20 miles west. After assessing his reported condition and the deteriorating weather, Rescue 3 remained to extricate the pilot first.

The terrain was so steep that they couldn’t pull the pilot up; instead, they had to lower him to the bottom of the ravine. Not only is his right ankle fractured and left leg broken, he had suffered a severe head trauma and was semi-conscious and combative. Constantino and Garcia stayed by his side, splinting his legs together to alleviate the pain and covering him with leaves to shelter him from the cold and rain.

The helicopter returned repeatedly to extricate Constantino, Garcia and the injured pilot, but deteriorating conditions hampered any attempt. They stayed in the ravine until daybreak and an attempt to rescue the injured hunter was postponed.

Near dawn, the helicopter returned to the crash site, where blowing rain, low clouds and gusting winds thwarted a rescue. Rather than wait for a lull, they headed west to pick up the injured hunter and fly him to the hospital.

As the weather improved, Rescue 3 returned to the crash site. Once again their efforts ere foiled and they leave to refuel. After adding a hundred-pound pigtail weight to the helicopter, they were able to extricate Constantino and the injured pilot in a litter with a long line.

They had to leave Garcia behind. The pilot was in critical condition as Constantino tended to him en route to the hospital. After dropping them off and refueling, the helicopter returned one last time to pull Garcia out of the ravine.

The award is co-sponsored by the IAFC and the Motorola Solutions business of Motorola Inc.