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 Firefighter Kevin hurried up the main ladder to the window, where Lieutenant Burns handed him the youngest child. Firefighter Kevin carried the child halfway down, then handed her to Firefighter Price, who completed the rescue. Next to be sent out was the other elderly woman. Lieutenant Burns handed her to Firefighter/EMT Cody Butzen, who was poised at the top of the 20-foot ground ladder; and
WHEREAS, By now, Firefighter Kevin had returned on the main ladder to the edge of the window, and he took the seven-year old girl, who was shrieking uncontrollably with terror, and holding her tightly, brought her down to safety; and
WHEREAS, The final two women remaining in the room were helped down by the firefighters, and soon all were gratefully reunited in the front compartment of Truck 29. The family were all clothed lightly and had no shoes on their feet, so the firefighters took care to shelter them from the freezing cold and heavy snow coming down; and
WHEREAS, Fire Department ambulances soon arrived to treat and transport the victims, who were all suffering from smoke inhalation; and
WHEREAS, The members of Truck 29 are to be heartily commended for accomplishing an extraordinary fire rescue under the most dangerous of conditions; and
WHEREAS, If not for the bravery of these firefighters, the fast-spreading fire and choking smoke would have wreaked serious injury, or even worse, on the six people trapped in the building; now, therefore,
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BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this ninth day of February, 2011, do hereby honor:
Lieutenant Joel Burns Firefighter Sean Kevin Firefighter Michael Price Firefighter/EMT Cody Butzen Firefighter/Paramedic Severen Henderson
of the Chicago Fire Department's Truck 29 for their valiant rescue of six victims on the verge of succumbing to a fire; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to these members of the City of Chicago Fire Department, and placed on permanent record in their personnel files, as a token of our appreciation and esteem.