| Name: | Joseph Cahill |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | DeKalb Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Ladder operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2004 |
| Incident City: | DeKalb |
| Year of Incident: | 2003 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Firefighter Joseph Cahill of Truck 1 of the DeKalb Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Valor for his efforts to rescue an injured man from an apartment fire in DeKalb, Illinois on August 21, 2003.
Firefighters at the DeKalb Fire Department’s Station 1 were dispatched to an apartment fire on the 200 block of Hillcrest Drive. An injured man called 9-1-1 from his bedroom and reported that he was trapped in an apartment on the third floor. Truck 1 arrived on the scene. There, they found the apartment fully involved. Firefighters Cahill and Jason Pavlak set up a ladder beneath the window of the apartment. Despite there being zero visibility inside the residence, Cahill entered the apartment and quickly found the victim. He removed him from the apartment and handed him off to Pavlak.
Citations:
“DeKalb resident rescued from fire,” The Daily Chronicle, August 21, 2003.
“Two DeKalb firefighters receive heroism awards,” The Daily Chronicle, May 26, 2004.