WEST PEORIA, Ill. – A number of people are being honored for saving lives during the fire several weeks ago in West Peoria that otherwise destroyed an apartment complex.
Police, sheriffs deputies, and firefighters, along with several West Peoria residents, saved at least four lives as fire enveloped Edgewood Apartments June 20th – in part, when they used bed sheets to create a makeshift catch-all.
A ceremony for them was held Wednesday.
“Of all other emergency events, large and small, we get people who bring us calm and order to the disorder that may occur,” said Terry Schadt, West Peoria Fire Chief.
Awards were given to all those who helped save lives that night.
“If it was not for these heroes standing here today, (those who lost apartments) could have lost their lives that night,” said Chris Watkins, Peoria County Sheriff. “If the fire department had arrived a few minutes later, or the deputies and the citizens didn’t hold the bed sheet and pleaded with the family to drop the children three floors high, if it wasn’t for a young man that was holding that bed sheet who yelled, ‘you got my word,’ that brought chills to millions of people that watched that video across the nation, if none of this would have happened, this family would not be here today, and we would not be recognizing these heroes.”
The children injured during the fire are said to still be recovering, receiving therapy that’s reassuring them everything will be alright.
Honored were:
- Norman Johnson, Tristan Morris and Dillon Lyon, citizens
- Deputies Joseph Vissering, Miles Winder, and Tim Gilmore, and Lieutenant David Zook, Peoria County Sheriffs Department
- Firefighters Kacper Soja, Zach Scudder, and John Harris, West Peoria Fire Department
- Firefighters Alex Stauthammer and Lexi Matheson, Limestone Fire Department
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