The call came over dispatch on the night of October 25, 2024. An apartment complex in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, was on fire. Multiple entrapments were reported. Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Philip Buccigrossi and Justin Yozsa, both assigned to Troop M in Bethlehem, were on patrol nearby. They were the first to arrive.
Into the Smoke
What the troopers found was a building filling rapidly with smoke and residents who did not yet know they were in danger. Without waiting for fire department units, Buccigrossi and Yozsa entered the building alongside a Whitehall Township police officer. They moved floor to floor, banging on doors, waking residents, and guiding them to safety through hallways that were increasingly difficult to navigate due to the smoke.
Over the course of the next several minutes, the troopers helped evacuate more than 50 people and several pets from the complex. The chaos of a building evacuation during a fire is almost impossible to describe to someone who has not experienced it. Residents in various states of panic, some confused, some frozen, some trying to go back inside for belongings. Children crying. Smoke thickening. And through all of it, two troopers who were not trained as firefighters doing the work of saving lives because they were there and the situation demanded it.
No Lives Lost
When the fire was finally brought under control and the last resident was accounted for, the outcome was extraordinary: no lives lost. In a multi unit residential fire with dozens of occupants, that outcome is far from guaranteed. It is the kind of result that only happens when the right people are in the right place at the right time and make the right decisions under pressure. Buccigrossi and Yozsa were those people on that night.
Recognition
In 2025, both troopers were named Pennsylvania State Police Troopers of the Year for their actions at the Whitehall fire. Governor Josh Shapiro recognized them at the annual awards ceremony, honoring their heroism alongside other first responders from across the commonwealth. For Troop M, which covers the Lehigh Valley, the recognition was a source of immense pride.
But for Buccigrossi and Yozsa, the award is secondary to the outcome. Fifty plus people went home to their families that night. Children slept safely in temporary housing instead of hospital beds or worse. Pets were reunited with their owners. The building can be repaired. The lives saved cannot be replaced.
Their actions are a reminder that heroism in law enforcement is not always about catching criminals. Sometimes it is about running into a burning building because people are trapped and you are the only one there. Troopers Buccigrossi and Yozsa did not hesitate. And because they did not, more than 50 people in Whitehall Township are alive today.
