The Daily Herald has an article about a Glen Ellyn firefighter being honored for bravery:
Chris Guare, a Glen Ellyn volunteer firefighter, received a Medal of Valor from The 100 Club of DuPage County for his attempt to save a man’s life during a May 10 apartment fire in Glen Ellyn.
Guare and other members of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Department responded to an early morning Duane Street fire that was confined to a single apartment of a three-story building. Once the door to the apartment was forced open by firefighters, oxygen flooded the apartment and the [room] became [fully-involved.] Guare, who had been using a thermal imaging device to scan the apartment, saw the occupant identified as Abdullah Rantissi, lying on the floor and rushed in to save him. Members of Guare’s crew used hoses to battle the fire in order to give [him] time to reach the occupant and drag him out of the building, Guare said.
“Chris crawled in on his belly, got the victim and was able to remove the victim from the apartment and out to the paramedics,” Chief Jim Bodony said. “Single-handedly, he was the one who went in. It was pretty difficult and he put his life on the line for this guy.”
In addition to pulling the resident out of his apartment, the married father of three drove the victim to the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center while paramedics treated his injuries. The victim later succumbed to the injuries sustained in the fire, Guare said.
Although Guare was the one to rush into the burning apartment, he said he could not have done so if he did not have the support and assistance of the other firefighters on his truck. Guare said he was honored to receive the award, but added he would not be considered for it without the assistance of the other firefighters on his engine.
While Guare was singled out for the Medal of Valor, Lt. Craig Eldridge, the public information officer for the volunteer fire department, said the other three firefighters who fought the apartment fire, Assistant Chief Jeff Buccola, Lt. Leigh Mikolajczyk and Firefighter Matt Andris. Along with Guare, will each receive a departmental honor for their efforts during a Glen Ellyn Village Council meeting later this month.
thanks Dan
