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When Ami Susan Petrucelli heard her two-year-old triplets were in the hospital in critical condition after a December fire at her Bethesda home, she rushed back from a business trip in three hours.

But a day later, she still hadn't seen her house and had not grasped the full extent of the damage the fire had caused. When she heard people were creating a Web site to direct food, clothing and basic necessities to her family, she asked a friend if she really needed it.

"I got an emphatic, ‘Yes, you do,'" Petrucelli recalled.

On Thursday, Petrucelli, her husband, Michael, and her three two-year-old sons Aiden, Bricen and Coleson got a chance to thank the firefighters and emergency personnel who made those relief efforts possible during an "Everyday Heroes" award ceremony Thursday morning in Rockville.

Ordinary county residents were recognized as well for the roles they played in saving lives during four emergency situations last year, including a serious car wreck near Clarksburg, where a vehicle caught fire, a fire in an apartment complex in White Oak, a heart attack during a basketball game at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and the Dec. 3 fire that destroyed the Petrucellis' home.

Michael Petrucelli was at home when the fire was discovered outside his house in the 4800 block of Jamestown Road. By the time he tried to reach the triplets, who were sleeping in cribs on the second floor, he was unable to get to them and suffered minor injuries during his attempt to do so. Firefighters had to remove a net covering the cribs and hold the triplets to their chests while going down a flight of steps through the fire in order to save them.

"We can see the benefit of all those things that came together, threefold," said Acting Fire Chief Richard Bowers during part of the ceremony, gesturing to the triplets, who were sporting bright red firefighter hats.

"Without them, we would not be a family today," Michael Petrucelli said during the ceremony.

Ami Susan Petrucelli told the audience that after suffering through the fire and seeing their children in the hospital, the couple "could feel the swell of community support far beyond our expectations."

"You are not simply everyday heroes," she told members of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. "You are heroes every day."

The family has rented a home not far from their previous house in Bethesda. The triplets are continuing to undergo medical evaluations following their time in the hospital for injuries due to smoke inhalation, but their mother said they appear to be doing well.

"Each one individually has different needs," she said.

The Petrucellis are still juggling "an endless list of to-dos," from figuring out the insurance situation on their former home to getting the dry-cleaning done. Ami Susan Petrucelli said the family could still use occasional meals and help on the weekends, and that since Dec. 3 the support from the Web site, www.petrucellirelieffund.com, has been overwhelming.

"I've never personally witnessed anything like it before," she said, adding that she hopes that similar Web sites can serve a similar purpose for future families in need.

She encouraged people to visit the Web site and leave a message thanking the firefighters who rescued her sons.

"Over anything we want and need, that would be our number one request," she said.