West Haven, Conn., July 2, 2009-University of New Haven (UNH) criminal justice student and Orange, Conn. police officer Jeffrey Platek is being lauded for the heroic rescue of a man from a basement fire while on duty on June 18, 2009.
Platek and fellow police officer Jonathan DeRubeis were working the night shift when they received a call from a dispatcher regarding a local house fire. Arriving at the scene, the officers discovered a man lying unconscious on the basement floor. Though they tried to reach him by entering the basement through the first floor, heavy smoke formed a barricade. Knowing they only had a few minutes to save the victim, Platek and DeRubeis sprinted to the back of the house and broke down the door. They quickly pulled the man to safety, and the victim was brought to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment.
"I've had a lot of training to prepare for these kinds of situations," said Platek, who is also a volunteer firefighter for the city of West Haven, Conn. This is his second year as an Orange police officer and fifth year as a volunteer firefighter. Prior to joining the force, he began serving his hometown community of Lockport, N.Y. as a volunteer firefighter. After graduating from UNH this year, he plans to remain in law enforcement, hoping to eventually move up through the ranks.
A leader in experiential education, the University of New Haven is experiencing a historic and nationally recognized surge in enrollment. Founded in 1920, the University provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. UNH is a private university with an 80-acre main campus. The University has an enrollment of more than 5,200; approximately 1,700 graduate students and more than 3,500 undergraduates, 70 percent of whom reside in University housing. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its five colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence, convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.
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