Chicago fire, police department first responders honored for bravery at City Hall
For many of Chicago’s first responders, there is no such thing as being off duty.
Firefighter EMT Eric Washington was driving home from a shift last year when he saw a wrong-way driver crash into a CTA bus on DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
He immediately jumped into action, working to get occupants away from the car before it became engulfed in flames.
Monday morning at City Hall, Mayor Brandon Johnson presented Washington with the top honor for bravery demonstrated by a member of the Chicago Fire Department.
Two Chicago police officers were given the top distinction for their department, and dozens of other first responders were presented honorable mentions for their work over the last year.
Johnson revived the award ceremony last year, following a four-year hiatus.
“You all meet people during the most trying and difficult times in their lives,” Johnson said. “You don’t simply just provide safety, you also provide comfort, acts of service, and most of all you bring hope to all that you meet.”
On July 9, 2023, Washington was headed home from work when he came across the “horrific” accident.
“I felt like I just had to stop and help, because it was maybe 5:30 a.m. and no one was out,” Washington told the Sun-Times on Monday. “I just so happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Washington — a 10-year veteran of the department — pulled over, activated his own 911 alert system and ran across lanes of traffic to the car, which was quickly filling with smoke. One passenger was trapped in the back seat and flames were visible in the rear of the car.
Washington quickly broke the rear window and pulled the passenger to safety.
At the same time, he instructed others on the scene to help move another passenger who had been ejected from the vehicle farther away from the flames.
Washington was given the 2024 Carter Harrison Award for his act of heroism.
“I was just making sure that I did everything I could before the response [vehicles] got there,” Washington told the Sun-Times. “Every day I come to work, I represent my family first, city second. I did it for the pride of my family and for the city.”
Honorees salute the colors Monday at the Carter Harrison and Lambert Tree awards ceremony at City Hall. “Human instinct is to run away from danger, but these officers run toward it, and they stand in the face of that danger to make sure that our citizens are safe,” CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said of the first-responders being recognized.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Police Department SWAT Officers Sergio Aponte and Chase Hill were presented the 2024 Lambert Tree Award for successfully deescalating a situation in which a woman and child were taken hostage and shots were fired at police.
On Feb. 28, 2023, Aponte and Hill responded to a call of shots fired in the 12900 block of South Peoria Street in West Pullman.
Aponte and Hill heard a woman yelling and found a person holding her and a child hostage.
The officers used “non-lethal tactics” to disarm the person, placed him in custody and safely removed the woman and child, officials said.
“While it is important we recognize these distinguished acts of service in our city, we also have to recognize that these officers don't do what they do for awards,” Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said. “Human instinct is to run away from danger, but these officers run toward it, and they stand in the face of that danger to make sure that our citizens are safe.”
Snelling said Monday’s award ceremony serves as an important reminder of the threats first responders face on the job.
“It's extremely important to understand the dangers that they're dealing with, because most people don't see that, and if you don't experience it, if you don't feel it, it's hard to determine how a human being should respond in those circumstances,” Snelling told the Sun-Times. “As you can see with the training, with the dedication, with the courage and the resilience, these officers were able to respond heroically.”
More than a week ago, officers and paramedics were fired at while responding to a shooting in the West Ridge neighborhood.
That same week, a firefighter was injured battling a blaze in the Burnside neighborhood and has been partially paralyzed, according to ABC7.
On Sunday night, a firefighter was seriously injured while responding to a blaze in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. The firefighter suffered injuries from a fall and was taken to a hospital.
“Recently, we had two CFD members who were injured in the performance of their duties,” Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said Monday. “Please keep them, their families and their co-workers in your prayers, in addition to all our firefighters and paramedics who get up every day to do the work."