MSA has awarded its FireSlayer of the Year Award to veteran firefighters Rick Murphy and Phillip Smith of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Fire and Rescue Department at the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis in April. Created in 2000, the annual award is presented to a firefighter who has committed an extraordinary act of bravery and served as a role model of commitment and integrity to fellow firefighters.

On Aug. 16, 2002, Murphy and Smith pried through burglar bars to race against a raging house fire that had imprisoned a family. After saving the mother, they turned and headed back into the intense flames and smoke to find her son. They found him and one firefighter removed his mask to give him life-saving air, but their escape was cut off by intense flame and heat.

In a last-ditch effort to save the boy, they pulled him down a hallway as far away from the flame as they could and covered him with their bodies and protective clothing. They said goodbye to each other as they ran out of air. Fellow firefighters found them and were able to assist them and their victim to safety.

In all, a family of four was rescued that night. Although a 12-year-old daughter suffered severe burns over 40% of her body, and the rest of the family suffered smoke inhalation, they are alive today due to the effort of firefighters Smith and Murphy and their colleagues.

In addition to the awards presented at the ceremony, MSA also donated $5,000 on behalf of Murphy and Smith to the IAFF Burn Foundation, which benefits the Firefighters' National Children's Burn Camp and vital burn research, rehabilitation, and education programs.