Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Hearing the sound of an explosion and windows shattering, and seeing thick, black smoke billowing out of a condominium building, Glendale Heights police officers Bradley Lautner, Grzegorz Kapusciak, and Robin Lambert they ran into the Waters Edge condo complex concerned with getting the occupants out safely.
A father and 4-year-old son suffered gunshot wounds to their heads and were found dead inside the condo after the Aug. 24 fire, which authorities say is suspicious and under investigation. But the three officers prevented further tragedy by saving the life of a 6-year-old boy and successfully evacuating the burning building.
Kapusciak was the first to arrive at the scene for a well-being check on a woman crying outside her residence. He had been talking her for about five minutes when the other officers pulled up and they heard the explosion. The woman said her children were inside.
It was hard to see anything through the smoke, but as officer Lautner walked a few feet in the door of the second-floor unit, a child suddenly appeared at his side. He picked up the boy and handed him to officer Kapusciak, who carried him out of the building. Unable to re-enter the unit, the officers yelled out multiple times to see if anyone else was inside but got no response. The fire was becoming more intense, the heat was becoming unbearable, and they struggled to breathe. They helped other residents escape the three-story building, working their way down from the top floor.
Firefighters responded about 10 a.m. and extinguished the blaze in 20 to 30 minutes, though crews remained on the scene for hours to put out hot spots. Three firefighters were taken to the hospital with symptoms of heat exhaustion, and one suffered a shoulder injury.
The DuPage County coroner said gunshots are the provisional causes of death for the father and son whose bodies were recovered after the fire. Preliminary autopsy results determined they would not have been saved by further heroic efforts.
