St. Paul firefighter duo named "Firefighter of the Year" for heroic saves
ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul Firefighters Jake Ryks and Mason Conlin aren't the type to crave the spotlight.
In fact, in front of family, friends, coworkers, and city leaders Thursday, they chose instead to credit others.
"I'm just a guy that came to work prepared to do my job," Ryks said.
It was enough for St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter to acknowledge the humility in the room.
"Our firefighters, our police officers, our paramedics, our first responders are the ones who run into a situation when everyone else is running away," Carter said.
Despite Ryks and Conlin's humble nature, there was no denying why the crowd was there: to honor two brave firefighters forever entwined with one of the city's most unforgettable tragedies.
On Jan. 3, Ryks and Conlin had only a vague knowledge of who each other was.
Conlin had only joined the department eight months prior, and the two didn't work together much.
Then the call came in for a house fire on the city's east side. The two were there before reinforcements, but knew there were people inside the home.
"I have a job to do, I've been trained very well to do it, I show up, and I go down the list, 1,2, 3, 4. Everything is mission focused. Everything is, we've trained for this exact moment," Ryks said.
They went into the home multiple times, pulling six children and their mother to safety.
"Right before I was going to leave, I Facetimed my wife and my son was there – I just broke down," Ryks said. "Obviously that night, as the dust settled, it was apparent that something extraordinary had occurred."
Dozens of first responders worked to save the seven. Ultimately, four of the children did not survive.
"Very much a defining moment for our city – very much a defining moment for me. Very much a defining moment for the St. Paul Fire Department," Carter said.
Ryks and Conlin stayed connected with the family well beyond the call.
"We were heavily invested in this family's journey. It wasn't over that day for us. It was following the stories, the recoveries. Unfortunately, the funerals, but we were grieving with the family."
Thursday, the two received the honor of "Firefighter of the Year" – given by the MN 100 Club. The two were chosen from a pool of firefighters from across the state.
"I feel really out of place in some ways getting the award. I did exactly what my job is to do," Ryks said. "Whatever the training is, whatever the extra is to make me more equipped to do my job, it's going to be worth it, because we can actually see the tangible benefit in my job."