| Name: | Brian Kulaga |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Cicero Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2022 |
| Incident City: | Lyons |
| Year of Incident: | 2021 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: |
Cicero Fire Department Lieutenant Brian Kulaga was awarded with the Medal of Honor for rescuing two people from an apartment fire while off duty on February 19, 2021.
Lt. Kulaga was driving on Ogden Avenue to get groceries for the firehouse in the morning when he saw smoke and flames coming from the second floor of Waterworks Pizza & Tavern. He pulled over and alerted the workers inside to the fire, then asked for directions to get to the upstairs apartments.
Without any gear, Kulaga went upstairs to retrieve a man upstairs. After bringing him down the stairs, he quickly returned to find the second man. The smoke had increased considerably, and he had to crawl through it to search. Lt. Kulaga found the second victim and was able to bring him downstairs as firefighters arrived on the scene. He assisted them until the flames were extinguished. Afterwards, he continued his grocery shopping.
Lt. Kulaga has been a firefighter for 31 years. In addition to receiving the Medal of Honor, he was commended by the Illinois House of Representatives for his bravery.
Citations:
“’He’s truly a hero’: Off-duty Cicero Firefighter Rescues Two Men From Burning Building in Lyons,” CBS News, February 19, 2021.