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Master Firefighter John Klavon and fire Lt. Curtis Warfield Jr. could feel the heat on the backs of their ears, necks and shoulders as they passed through flames to search for triplet toddlers trapped in their bedroom in their burning house in December.

With no visibility because the smoke was so thick, the Montgomery County firefighters crawled on their hands and knees until they found the cribs by touch and sound.

"We heard them moaning," said Klavon, 25, a firefighter with Montgomery County since 2002.

As they tried to scoop the children out, however, they discovered a protective net stretched over the cribs. The firefighters then had to take their gloves off and pull knives from their pockets to cut the material.

They immediately rushed out of the house with two of the children and handed them to medics, while other firefighters battled the blaze. The third child was rescued by Capt. Kimonti Oglesby.

For their efforts, Klavon and Warfield received the gold medal for valor, the highest honor given to public safety workers. Oglesby received the silver medal, and firefighter Jody Sealey received the bronze medal.

Three gold medals were presented at the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce's 2009 Public Safety Awards. Since the first gold medal was awarded in 1978, just 10 awards had been given before Friday's event.

More than 1,100 people attended the awards luncheon at the county's conference center in North Bethesda. Among those in attendance were Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin and U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen.

Seeing triplets Aiden, Bricen and Coleson Petrucelli at the event was even more meaningful, Klavon said.

"It's a good feeling to see them, and I'm just happy we were able to save them," Klavon said.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Lt. Patrick Mitchell received a gold medal of valor for his work as part of the Dec. 23 water rescue on River Road. He helped save motorists stranded in the flood caused by the break of a 66-inch water main.

The silver medal was presented to Lt. William Phelps Jr., and bronze medals went to Firefighter I Ryan Bailey, Firefighter III Anthony Bell, Capt. Frank Doyle, Firefighter III John Dunlavey and Master Firefighter Henry Kumm, as well as Jim MacKay, a civilian pilot on the Maryland State Police helicopter and Maryland State Police Sgt. Nathan H. Wheelock, a paramedic on the helicopter, for their roles in the rescue.

In all, 26 firefighters and police officers were honored at Friday's ceremony.