BINGHAMTON – Hundreds of people gathered Thursday at the Binghamton Holiday Inn Arena for the 2nd annual American Red Cross Real Heroes Breakfast to honor a number of groups and individuals for their heroic and – in several cases – life-saving actions. Among those recognized at the event were members of the Otselic Valley Fire Department Emergency Squad, six-year-old Sherburne resident Micayla Race and Bainbridge-Guilford Central School District Registered Nurse Kelly Cirigliano.

South Otselic EMT Squad Captain Barbara Graves, EMT members Thomas Larkin and George Littlejohn and Fire Police member Lyne’ Littlejohn received the Real Heroes Fire Rescue Award for their heroic efforts on a cold night in January of 2010, according to South Otselic Fire Chief Jeff Hathaway, who nominated the crew for the award.

That evening, Graves, Larkin and the Littlejohns responded to an extreme medical situation involving a 24-year-old male who’d suffered a life-threatening injury, said Hathaway. Able to provide only basic life support, the team didn’t hesitate, using all of their abilities to keep the young man alive for over 40 minutes while awaiting the arrival of an Advanced Life Support helicopter out of Marcellus to arrive.