| Name: | Richard Drabik |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Ladder operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2022 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 2022 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Chicago Firefighter Richard Drabik was awarded the Medal of Valor for his actions during a residential fire in Chicago on January 6, 2022.
Engine 109 and Truck 32 responded to a fire around 6:30 pm. When they arrived, the building was filled with heavy smoke and fire. Drabik noticed a civilian leaning partially out of a second-floor window, desperately waving for help as smoked poured out from behind him. Drabik alerted his partner to grab a ground ladder as they jumped off the truck. The victim was hanging out of the window, clinging to the edge of the windowsill. Drabik raised the ladder and raced up through bad fire and smoke conditions to reach the victim just as he was losing his grip on the windowsill. He then carried the victim to safety.
Citations:
“Firefighter of the Year – Firefighter EMT Richard Drabik,” Chicago Fire Department Foundation, December 19, 2022.