| Name: | Robert Mansfield |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2011 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 2010 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Firefighter Robert Mansfield and Firefighter Christopher Reischl of the Chicago Fire Department received the Medal of Honor for their actions to save a man from a burning building in Chicago, Illinois on January 1, 2010.
Mansfield and Reischl responded to a fire at a two-story building at 1:30 a.m. with units from the Chicago Fire Department. At the scene, they found fire coming out of windows in the front and rear of the structure. Mansfield and Reischl went to the rear of the building and were informed by a police officer that a man was trapped inside. Both entered the structure and ascended a narrow stairway. Black smoke banking down the stairway indicated that there was fire on the opposite side of the door at the top of the stairs. Complicating the rescue effort was the fact that the engine company outside the building was encountering frozen hydrants that delayed water from being put on the fire.
Inside the building, Mansfield pried open the door at the top of the stairs about 6 inches before he noticed that it was obstructed by a heavy object. He was then forced to remove the hinges on the door by himself because the hallway was too narrow to allow the two firefighters to operate side by side. Mansfield then kicked in the door and found the man lying just inside the entryway. Both firefighters carried the man down the stairs to safety.
Citation:“Chicago, Ill. firefighters Robert Mansfield and Chris Reischl,” Firehouse.com News, April 13, 2011.