| Name: | Robert Underhill |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Kankakee Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Ladder operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2011 |
| Incident City: | Kankakee |
| Year of Incident: | 2010 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Firefighter Robert Underhill of the Kankakee Fire Department received the Medal of Valor for his efforts to rescue two children from a house fire on March 5, 2010.
Kankakee firefighters, including Underhill, responded to a house fire that broke out early in the morning. A family member informed the crew that there were two children still trapped inside the residence. Underhill used a ladder to climb to the bedroom the children were reportedly in, dense smoke forcing him to search for the children with his hands. He first found an unresponsive 12-year-old boy on a bed, who was taken by the arriving crew down the ladder to safety. Underhill then discovered the 4-year-old girl near the bed on the floor and rescued her from the house to be treated by paramedics.
Citation:Springfield: Kankakee firefighter honored for rescue,
The Daily Journal, May 11, 2011.
State: Local firefighters honored during ceremony in capital,
The Daily Journal.
TheDailyJournalVideo. Medal of Valor recipient interview.
YouTube video, 2:21. May 10, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8HzDAngA2M