On Sunday October 21, 2012 Firefighters from Florissant Valley Fire District and Black Jack Fire District were honored for their heroic efforts during the rescue of a woman from a recent house fire. These firefighters were able to rescue a woman from a second floor bedroom of the burning home in the Fox Lake subdivision. Firefighters Glenn Craig and Frank Lipski with Florissant were able to crawl past a fully involved bedroom to get to a remote bedroom on the second floor and carry the woman to safety, while the other firefighters used a hose line to contain the fire to the room of origin and extinguish the fire. For their efforts all members received a class VI Unit Citation from the Greater St. Louis Area Fire Chief’s Association. Firefighters Craig and Lipski were also awarded the Class II Silver Medal of Valor for their efforts during the rescue.
Firefighters from Black Jack & Florissant again worked together to rescue a man from a window during a fire in his home. Crews were able to ladder the building and get to the man who was at the window where they gave him fresh air using a firefighters SCBA Mask. This action kept the man conscious and limited potential smoke inhalation while additional crews extinguished the fire. The man was eventually moved to safety down the ladder by the crews on the scene. For this effort the crews were issued a Class VI Unit Citation from the Greater St. Louis Area Fire Chief’s Association.
Frequent combined training between Florissant Valley Fire District and Black Jack Fire District clearly played a role in these two rescue situations going smoothly. The two adjacent departments train together often due to the frequency that they assist each other on large fires. Congratulations to the members of these to departments for their actions on these two occasions.