| Name: | Derek Perry |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Galesburg Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2014 |
| Incident City: | Galesburg |
| Year of Incident: | 2013 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Galesburg Fire Department Captain Derek Perry was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions to save a young boy from a house fire on May 14, 2013.
Firefighters arrived on the scene just after midnight and were notified immediately that a 3-year-old victim was trapped in the house. Heavy smoke was pouring from the windows. A neighbor, who was a veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, had a map of the upstairs of the house and pointed out where the child’s room was so the firefighters would be able to locate it amid bad visibility. Perry entered the house without a handline, locating the room. He took out the windows and searched the room. There was no fire in the room, but the smoke was very dense. After sweeping the room extensively, he located the child in the far corner near the window. He picked the child up and handed him to an officer waiting outside. The child was then taken by Life Flight to a Chicago hospital.
Citations:
Tom Loewy, “Quick decisions lead to rescue of child in Galesburg fire,” JournalStar, May 15, 2013.