During his leave, in his free time, the aspirant Paweł Piśkiewicz saved 4 people from a burning care and rehabilitation facility.
Prior to the arrival of the service, a police officer at hazard of life took rescue measures. For his courageous act he was awarded the 2025 civilian Service Eagle Award.
The award honors people who can be a model for a young generation
The Foundation for increasing up with Nami and Defence24 since 2024 awards the Public Service Eagle Award to public service officials and soldiers who demonstrated a heroic attitude in their action for another people. It is simply a form of exceptional thanks to all those people who put their lives and their wellness at hazard all day to defend the peace of the homeland and its citizens. The award honors people who can be a model for a young generation, men of valor, integrity and readiness to sacrifice for the common good and for another man.
During the yearly Defence24 Days Gala, the 2025 Public Service Eagle Award was received by Aspirant Paweł Piśkiewicz. He saved people from a care and rehabilitation facility whose residents were elderly, disabled and with limited ability to decision independently. The policeman acted without specialized equipment and under very hard conditions of dense smoke. Saving the victims, he himself was poisoned with carbon monoxide and went to the hospital.
On receiving the Public Service Eagle Award, Aspirant Paweł Piśkiewicz said:
I accept the award with large emotion. I dedicate it to all my friends and colleagues who service people and our country all day.
In addition to the statue, the winner besides received a check of PLN 10,000, the founder of which is PwC, providing services in the field of business, taxation and legal advice and audit.
The Heads of the Public Service is simply a way to express our large gratitude
Magdalena Pawlak, president of the Management Board of the Grown-up Foundation with us stressed: "We were wondering how to say "thank you" to all those who service our country. The Heads of the Public Service is simply a way of expressing our large gratitude. Public servants save the lives of citizens, and we want to point out that we see and appreciate their hardship and courage.
Piotr Małecki, president of Defence24 added: – Heroes are among us. Heroes are public servants who are willing to sacrifice for the common good and for the other.
Several twelve applications from all over Poland were received in the competition announced in the beginning of 2025. Therefore, the Jury of the Prize, yet deciding on the selection of the nominees for the Main Prize and the selection of the winner of the Public Service Eagle, did not have an easy task.
Among the 5 final nominations, apart from the winner were also:
- Kacper Malinowski – a police officer who saved the life of a 34-year-old man while serving in Gdynia. Seeing the body of the victim drifting head down, in the port pool, he threw himself without hesitation to save him. In order to increase the effectiveness of his actions, he removed his bulletproof vest, boots and all professional clothing and jumped into water, whose temperature oscillated around 0 degrees C. An immediate reaction and courage of a policeman saved a young man's life.
- Magdalena Joanna Bartosziewicz – a prison service officer who was on 09.02.2024, in her free time (on the way home from work) overpowered a drunk man who beat and abused his own sister, breaking her nose and breaking her teeth. Ms. Magdalena helped the injured female and called the police. She did it herself due to the fact that nobody else decided to react.
- Bogusław Postek – Colonel of the Polish Army, who witnessed a road accident on 17.11.2022, during his free time, on the Przasnysz-Ciechanów route. With his courage, he saved the life of the injured female he pulled out of a burning car.
- Ryszard Józef Saj and Mateusz Silarski – firefighters from the State Fire Service of Podkarpacie, who on 18.01.2025, during their service, in the town of Blizne, saved the life of a man, twice buried in a 6-meter dig. At the hazard of their lives, both firefighters went down with a breathing apparatus to the victim and in a state of constant danger another heart attack, manually removing the dirt from the victim’s head to facilitate his breathing. After more than six hours of rescue, they managed to get a man out of the trench.
The Jury of the civilian Service Eagle Award included:
Magdalena Pawlak, president of the Board of the Grown-up Foundation – president of the Chapter
- Piotr Małecki, president of Defence24
- General Guns at St. Edward Gruszka, advisor to the Minister of National Defence
- Bogusław Chrabota, editor-in-chief of the paper “Rzeczpospolita”
- Jan Ołdakowski, manager of the Warsaw Uprising Museum
- Magdalena Rigamonti, Onetu journalist, journalist
- Jan Adam Priest, associate of the Shooting Society of Kurkowe Brotherhood in Krakow, legal advisor
- Lieutenant-General Katarzyna Rałędowska, manager of the Veterinary Centre for Activities outside the State Borders
- Commissioner Andrzej Żuławski, winner of the 2024 civilian Service Eagle Award
Initiators of the Foundation for increasing Up with Us and Defence24 award it annually, during the gala ceremony as part of the global conference Defence24 Days, which is the largest conference in Central and east Europe devoted to defence and safety issues. This is simply a leading event for the arms sector and sectors related to the safety of citizens, businesses and public administration.
