| Name: | David Clarke |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Peoria Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2003 |
| Incident City: | Peoria |
| Year of Incident: | 2002 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Engineer Chance Barlow of the Peoria Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Honor while Captain David Clarke and Firefighter Joey Camp of the same department were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions to rescue two children from a residential fire in Peoria, Illinois on February 24, 2002.
The firefighters were called to a house fire at 803 E. Behrends around 8:45 a.m. that was started when a four-year-old accidentally started a fire with a cigarette lighter. They entered the smoke-filled second-story bedroom looking for a six-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. Engineer Barlow pulled the six-year-old victim out of the inferno from the top bunk of a bunk bed, taking her to safety, with the help of firefighters Clarke and Camp. In the process, Barlow suffered second- and third-degree burns and his facemask was severely damaged from the heat. Undeterred, Barlow went back into the house, along with Camp, and successfully rescued the four-year-old.
Citations:City firefighters cited for valor – Peorian serving country in Iraq first to win State’s highest honor for bravery,
The Peoria Journal Star, April 16, 2003.
Day of honor: Illinois firefighters receive awards for their bravery,
The State Journal-Register, May 10, 2003.
Illinois Honors Her Bravest.
The Gong, July-September, 2003.