[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H5806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PAYING TRIBUTE TO FIRE CHIEF RYAN SEKERSKI OF COCHRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, 
                         ORDINARY AMERICAN HERO

  (Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to a brave young man from back in my district, Ryan Sekerski, a 28-year 
veteran of a volunteer fire department.
  Now, this is a picture of Mr. Sekerski with his family. We celebrated 
his act of heroism. I have no idea how he is registered or how he 
votes, but I do know where his heart is.
  What you are looking at is a tanker truck. Now, Mr. Sekerski, on his 
way home from work, heard on a radio that a gas tanker truck had 
swerved to avoid being in a collision, had hit a utility pole, was on 
its side, and seeping gas out that was on fire.
  When he arrived at the scene, his question was: Is the driver okay? 
Nobody knew the answer.
  When he found out the driver was still inside this truck, he went to 
his trunk, got on his volunteer fireman's gear, went inside this 
burning inferno, with no regard for his own life and his own safety, 
but more regard for the person trapped inside--what a remarkable act of 
heroism.
  At a time when our country is looking for strong Americans, people 
like Ryan Sekerski are ordinary people doing extraordinary things every 
day.
  Why? Because they are truly Americans--especially on the weekend we 
have coming up, we celebrate these types of people and what they have 
done.

                          ____________________