Chicago Officers Rescue Four From Building Fire

Nov. 27, 2012
Officers Joe Deferville and William Morales raced up three floors of a smoky West Side building.

Chicago police officers raced up three floors of a smoky West Side building Monday night, banging on doors to warn unaware residents and bringing four people to safety.

Chicago Police Department Officers Joe Deferville and William Morales had been conducting a traffic stop about 7:50 p.m. in the 4100 block of West Division Street when a man pulled up and pointed out smoke pouring from a nearby three-story building.

The officers drove over and ran inside, Deferville said. Four other officers joined them moments afterward.

Working upward from the bottom floor, the officers pounded on apartment doors, alerting residents on the first and second floors, who had not yet been aware of fire.

On the third floor, the officers found a concerned woman gathering clothing to bring outside, even as she and her 5-year-old daughter were coughing from the thickening smoke.

Deferville told the mother to hurry, and he carried her daughter out of the building.

Meanwhile, two other officers helped a visually impaired man down from the other third floor unit. Officers also escorted a fourth resident needing assistance, police said.

Outside, the teary 5-year-old became concerned as she waited for her mother to appear. Deferville tried to entertain her with the lights on his squad car, and after about a minute, her mother emerged unharmed.

By the time fire officials arrived, all residents had left the building, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. The fire caused no injuries but displaced six people, he said.

Outside the fire, the smoke was so thick it was impossible to see across the street, Deferville said. The officer, a 10-year-veteran of the police department, said the fire's quick spread offered an important lesson.

"When something like this happens, please leave your personal belongs, take your loved ones and leave the building as soon as possible," Deferville said. "Everything else can be replaced."

Copyright 2012 - Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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