| Name: | Todd Bogatitus |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Spring Valley Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Volunteer |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2000 |
| Incident City: | Spring Valley |
| Year of Incident: | 1999 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Lieutenant Todd Bogatitus of the Spring Valley Fire Department received the Medal of Valor for his actions while fighting a residential fire in Spring Valley, Illinois on February 21, 1999.
Bogatitus was one of nearly a dozen Spring Valley Fire Department firefighters who arrived at the scene of a residential fire at 113 E. Second Street. Flames and smoke were billowing out of the home’s front door and windows. Police officers were already there, but were unable to enter the building. As his fellow firefighters utilized three hoses to keep the fire at bay, Bogatitus entered the home. After a search of one room turned up empty, he found a boy in a bedroom, hidden under a bed. Bogatitus told a reporter at the Bureau County Republican, “I picked him up. The boy was dead. I took him outside and laid him down on the street. The fire chief, Gene Scheri, and I started CPR on him. They rushed him to the hospital, where they got his heart going again.”
Citations:Council applauds bravery of firefighter,
NewsTribune, March 2, 1999.
Firefighters honored for gallantry,
The Journal Star, May 17, 2000.
SV firefighter will receive State honor,
Bureau County Republican, May 6, 2000.