| Name: | Michael Scholle |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Waukegan Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2009 |
| Incident City: | Waukegan |
| Year of Incident: | 2008 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Captain Michael Scholle of the Waukegan Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Valor for his efforts to rescue a nineteen-year-old from a burning residence in Waukegan, Illinois on November 21, 2008.
That day, at six in the morning, a fire originating in the basement of a home on 737 S. Fulton Ave. rapidly spread upstairs, leaving a teenaged female trapped inside it. The young woman’s sixty-six-year-old father, a veteran of the Vietnam War, tried to rescue her, but he was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, in the process, he was badly cut and burned. He subsequently enlisted the help of some neighbors who were also unable to combat the intense heat and thick smoke emanating from the fire.
Shortly thereafter, the Waukegan Fire Department arrived on the scene. Captain Scholle entered the home and crawled through the heavy smoke to the victim’s bedroom where he found her unconscious. He picked her up and removed her from the burning residence through the bedroom window where paramedics were waiting to receive her outside. The fire was contained roughly twenty minutes later.
Citations:
”’His skin was peeling off.’” The News Sun, November 22, 2008.
”One year later, Waukegan father and daughter feel blessed—fire survivors ‘doing better each day.’” The News Sun, November 27, 2009.
”’This is what we train for’: Waukegan firefighter earns Medal of Valor.” The News Sun, May 14, 2009.