[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CLEARWATER FIREFIGHTER PAT CONREY HONORS FALLEN COMRADES

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2008

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Clearwater 
firefighter Pat Conrey, who I am proud to represent, for the remarkable 
tribute he has paid to a fellow firefighter who fell in the line of 
duty.
  In his effort to raise money for the family of Oscar Armstrong III, a 
Cincinnati firefighter who died fighting a fire in March 2003, leaving 
behind a pregnant fiancee and two young children, Mr. Conrey did an 
extraordinary thing. He donned 45 pounds of firefighting gear and ran 
the entire 26.2 miles of the Flying Pig Marathon held in Cincinnati 
last May 4th.
  Pat's caring and compassion for others were on full display that day. 
After stopping along the route to pay respect to the Armstrong family, 
Pat and a fellow firefighter resumed running and soon came upon another 
runner who collapsed on the pavement from an apparent heart attack. Pat 
and his partner in the race, Joe Arnold, performed emergency CPR on the 
fallen runner until an ambulance could arrive.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to say that Pat once again resumed running 
and completed the marathon in 5 hours and 26 minutes. During that time, 
he demonstrated to the people of Cincinnati the compassion, courage and 
heroism that our Nation's firefighters exhibit every day in our 
communities. Following my remarks, I will include for my colleagues the 
full story of Pat Conrey's run as reported by Terry Tomalin in The St. 
Petersburg Times.
  In closing, please join me in saying thank you to Pat for his moving 
tribute to a fallen firefighter and for his inspiring story of selfless 
service to the people of Clearwater, Florida.

             [From the St. Petersburg Times, May 29, 2008]

               Firefighter Gears Up To Honor the Fallen 

                           (By Terry Tomalin)

       Clearwater firefighter Pat Conrey started out wanting to 
     honor a fallen comrade. By the time it was over, his quest 
     encompassed 26.2 miles, flying pigs, and ultimately, life and 
     death.
       Conrey had heard the story of Cincinnati firefighter Oscar 
     Armstrong III, who died battling a blaze in March 2003, 
     leaving behind a pregnant fiancee and two children.
       He decided to run Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon on May 4 
     in full firefighting gear to raise money for Armstrong's 
     family.
       ``Firefighters have this special bond,'' Conrey said. 
     ``When one of us dies, we all feel it.''
       Conrey, who has completed 10 marathons, ran the Times 
     Turkey Trot in Clearwater in 45 pounds of gear last year to 
     raise money for families of fallen firefighters.
       ``When you run in firefighter equipment, you get people's 
     attention,'' he said.
       But running in full gear isn't that glamorous.
       ``It was hot--real hot,'' Conrey said. ``You have to drink 
     a lot of water.''
       The 40-year-old Conrey, Clearwater's firefighter of the 
     year in 2007, trained for months, logging several 13-mile 
     runs in his bunker coat, bunker pants, air pack and helmet.
       ``That is pretty out there,'' said local running coach Joe 
     Burgasser. ``You don't want to carry any extra weight. I 
     would not recommend that for any sane person.''
       Conrey, who earlier this year finished a 50-mile run 
     through Withlacoochee State Forest in 10 hours and 23 
     minutes, is used to people thinking he's crazy.
       ``I love it,'' he said.
       A month before the marathon, Conrey learned two other 
     Cincinnati-area firefighters also had died in the line of 
     duty.
       ``That made me want to make sure that I finished even 
     more,'' Conrey said. ``I would run for all of them.''
       Word spread through the Cincinnati firefighting community 
     that a crazy man from Clearwater was running for the families 
     of the fallen.
       ``It really touched everyone,'' said Joe Arnold, a 
     Cincinnati firefighter who ran part of the race, minus the 
     gear, with Conrey. ``To think this guy would come all this 
     way and run a marathon in his turnout gear for people he had 
     never met . . . that is what it is all about.''
       About eight miles into the marathon, Conrey and a dozen 
     other firefighters stopped at a fire station to pay their 
     respects to Armstrong's family.
       ``We didn't know they would be there,'' Conrey said. 
     ``There were lots of hugs, some tears. It was very 
     emotional.''
       The unexpected stop put the firefighters behind schedule. 
     While they were talking, a man named Bobby Edwards, a 10-year 
     Flying Pig veteran, ran by.
       Once they resumed running, the firefighters hadn't gotten a 
     mile down the road when they came across Edwards collapsed on 
     the pavement, a victim of an apparent heart attack.
       ``When I got there I said, `It is time to go to work 
     boys,'' Conrey said.
       Arnold performed chest compressions on the 55-year-old 
     runner as the rest of the group assisted.
       ``If we hadn't stopped to talk, we would have been in front 
     of him,'' Arnold said. ``It is little things like that make 
     being a firefighter so special.''
       Conrey, who despite the gear and stops covered the course 
     in 5 hours, 26 minutes, said he is still amazed at the 
     difference a few minutes can make.
       ``When you do what we do for a living, you realize how 
     precious time really is,'' he said. ``I am glad I was there 
     to help make a difference.''

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