| Name: | Juan Gonzalez |
| 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: | 2023 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 2022 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Chicago Fire Department Firefighter/EMT Juan Gonzalez was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving an unconscious 33-year-old resident from an apartment fire.
In the middle of the night on February 21, 2022, the Chicago Fire Department was called to a multi-unit fire in Albany Park that included apartments and businesses. Firefighter Gonzalez was in the first truck to arrive at the scene, making his first task search and rescue operations. The fire was aggressive and produced a large amount of black smoke, the firefighters worked quickly to attempt to locate any residents while the visibility conditions steadily decreased. Gonzalez, after finishing searching the first floor, skipped the second floor where his fellow firefighters were already searching and went directly to the third floor. Gonzalez located an unconscious resident at what would turn out to be the origin of the fire. Gonzalez carried the unconscious man down the first flight of stairs before being assisted by another fireman to carry the victim outside to the paramedics. The victim was immediately treated and would later go on to make a full recovery. Gonzalez’s strength and determination to move the resident ultimately saved the victim’s life.
Citations:
Boyle, Colin, and Alex V. Hernandez. Apartments In Huge Albany Park Fire That Also Destroyed Gym, Brewery Owned By Landlord With History Of Violations.
Block Club Chicago, 21 Feb. 2022, blockclubchicago.org/2022/02/21/massive-albany-park-fire-destroys-twisted-hippo-brewery/.
2023 IL Fallen Firefighter Memorial And MOH Ceremony.
Vimeo, uploaded by Crowdson Creative Video, 11 May 2023, vimeo.com/825948365/5148b7d371.