The traditional ceremony to award medals of merit and Genoveve distinctions forms part of the programme to mark the patron saint’s day for the corps, Sant Joan de Déu, on 8 March.
This annual act of recognition pays homage to professional careers and some outstanding actions in 2020. This year’s edition also recognised the work done by the corps over the course of a year shaped by the pandemic.
Specifically, nine Genoveve commemorative awards were given to firefighters who retired in 2020 and two medals of merit to two members of the service:
- Antoni López Palma for his individual bravery in rescuing a person from inside a home on 10 September. Even though he was aware of the risks involved, he accessed the building through a window in an explosive atmosphere with more than fifteen leaking gas cylinders, dismantling the multiple locks on the inside of the door and rescuing a person.
- Carlos Pons Santotomás for his swift and unwavering action to rescue a person from a fire in a ground floor premises in the Barceloneta neighbourhood on 14 August, which left three people dead. Carlos Pons suffered burns and his equipment was affected by the flames. With the fire fully active, he removed the metal bars from the door and entered the building in flames, managing to rescue a person alive.
Along with the Mayor, the ceremony was attended by the head of the Barcelona Fire Service, Sebastià Massagué; the manager for Safety and Prevention, Maite Casado; the head of the City Police, Pedro Velázquez and other officials.