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For Clearwater Firefighter, Heroism Is Part Of The Race

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

TAMPA Firefighter Patrick Conrey put on 75 pounds of gear on Saturday and ran in Cincinnati's annual Flying Pig Marathon.

Along the 26.2-mile route, Conrey, of Clearwater Fire & Rescue, raised money for the widow and children of a fallen firefighter.

Conrey also stopped to help a fallen marathon runner.

At mile 10, Conrey and an entourage of local paramedics and firefighters came upon 55-year-old Bobby Edwards, who had collapsed.

Edwards had no pulse, Cincinnati firefighters said.

While paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Conrey knelt nearby. The minutes spent giving Edwards CPR most likely saved the runner's life, Conrey said.

"We did what we normally do to help out," Conrey said in a television interview with NBC affiliate and News Channel 8 sister station WLWT-TV. "He appeared to be down. We rendered aid."

Edwards was taken by ambulance to a local hospital; Conrey finished the marathon, still dressed in full bunker gear.

He ran the race to raise awareness about Cincinnati firefighter Oscar Armstrong III. Armstrong, 25, died in 2003 while fighting a house fire. He is survived by two children and a fiancé, who was pregnant at the time of Armstrong's death.

"I wanted to educate the public about what I was doing," Conrey said of participating in the marathon while in full uniform. "I felt the need."

Conrey first heard about Armstrong when he went through Clearwater Fire & Rescue's officer training last year, according to a press release. Two Cincinnati firefighters talked about Armstrong's death and Conrey felt compelled to help the firefighter's family.

Money raised goes to Armstrong's children, Clearwater police and fire spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts said in a news release. Donations can be made at any Fifth Third Bank.

The Flying Pig Marathon, in its 10th year, had a record 22,149 participants over the weekend according to its Web site.

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