H resolution
adopted by Yke <lj GoUHCll
of the Qity of Qhicago, Illinois
presented by MAYOR RICHARD M. DALEY Qn FEBRUARY 9, 2011
^OhoTBClS ' ®n *ne la*e afternoon of December 24th, 2010, fire companies of the Chicago Fire Department's 13th Battalion responded to a report of fire in the 6000 block of West Wabansia Avenue; and
WHEREAS, Arriving at the scene, Lieutenant Joel Burns saw heavy smoke issuing from the second-floor windows on the east side of the building, then suddenly saw arms waving through the dense black clouds outside one of the windows; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Burns immediately ordered two firefighters to forcibly open an iron gate barring their way, then raise a twenty-foot ground ladder to the window for rescue; and
WHEREAS, Once the ladder was in position, Lieutenant Burns quickly ascended and entered the window to look for victims. Straining to see through the acrid smoke, he soon discovered a total of six people inside the bedroom, all in a panic and huddling near the window for available air; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Burns first quickly shut the bedroom door to blockfurther entry of the thick smoke issuing up the stairwell from the first floor, where the fire was burning, then directed two of his firefighters, Sean Kevin and Michael Price, to redirect the main aerial ladder from the roof to the window to assist in the rescue; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Burns now turned his attention to calming the victims, two elderly grandmothers, two adult women and two terrified young children; and
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Burns cleared the window opening by smashing out the framing, creating one large opening through which to remove the victims, then he helped the most vulnerable grandmother into position at the edge of the opening; and
WHEREAS, Firefighter/Paramedic Severen Henderson, poised at the top of the twenty-foot ladder, reached in to take the elderly woman from Lieutenant Burns, then carefully carried her down to safety; and
WHEREAS, Now Firefi...
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