| Name: | Robert Rojas |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 2006 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 2005 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Captain Robert Rojas of the Chicago Fire Department’s Truck 58 was awarded the Medal of Valor for his efforts to rescue two elderly victims from a residential fire in Chicago, Illinois on January 8, 2005.
Truck 58 arrived at the 2900 block of North Kilpatrick Avenue to find smoke billowing out of the basement. They were alerted by a resident who had escaped the blaze that two elderly tenants, who lived in a basement apartment of the one-story bungalow, were trapped inside. Captain Rojas, along with the other firefighters from his truck, began ventilating the building. As they made their way to the smoky basement, they heard somebody moan.
Despite the basement now being fully involved, Rojas, on his hands and knees, disregarded his own safety and crawled through the inferno. He found a nearly unconscious male victim on a couch. Rojas, aided by Firefighter Michael Jacobazzi and Firefighter Paul Kluge, removed the victim from the basement to safety. After the rescue, members of Truck 35 found the second, female victim hiding under a pile of clothing.
Citations:
“Firehouse Heroism & Community Service Awards,” Firehouse, April, 2006.
“Gov. Blagojevich honors fallen firefighters, recognizes 28 other firefighters for extraordinary acts of bravery,” The Gong, July-September, 2006.
Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council of the City of Chicago, Illinois, March 9, 2005.