Flossmoor Fire Chief Robert Kopec offered some belated recognition awards to firefighters and paramedics who were involved with emergency calls over the past year.
“The pandemic was a challenge the fire and EMS service had to face and tested the commitment our personnel made to protect our residents, neighbors and guests,” Kopec said Monday, June 7, during a regular meeting of the Flossmoor Village Board. “The outcome was both physically and mentally exhausting, but once again our dedicated personnel rose to the occasion.”
The first incident honored firefighters who took part in the delivery of twin girls on July 31 of last year. When crews arrived, they found one baby had already been delivered as a breach with the umbilical cord attached, Kopec said. The second baby was delivered, also breach, by the crew. The fire department crew tended to the babies and mother, and transported them safely to Advocate South Suburban Hospital.
The second recognized firefighters who assisted with a structure fire on Oak Street in Hazel Crest this January. A one-and-a-half-story residential structure caught fire there. Crews extinguished the fire, got a victim out of the basement and transported that person to South Suburban Hospital, Kopec said.
The third set of recognitions also involved a structure fire in Hazel Crest, this one on Hickory Lane in February. In that case, crews encountered a single-story residential fire with people trapped inside. They got an unconscious male and an unconscious, elderly female out of the structure. The male died from smoke inhalation at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, but the female was transported to South Suburban Hospital and survived, Kopec said.
The final incident for which firefighters and paramedics were commended involved the delivery of another set of twin girls on April 16. The crew found the mother in a bathroom with twin girls already delivered and umbilical cords attached, Kopec said. Responders cut the cords, cleaned the babies and transported them to South Suburban Hospital.
“They not only met the challenge but exceeded it,” Kopec said. “They once again displayed their commitment and dedication to the safety and well-being of others. … As a result of their training, teamwork and perseverance, lives were truly saved.”
The crews that delivered the twin girls received outstanding call certificates provided by South Cook County EMS Director Bernie Heilicser. The fire crews that made rescues under fire conditions received unit citation certificates.
Appointments to the Community Relations Commission
Mayor Michelle Nelson appointed Stephen Ramsey and Molly Deugaw to the village’s Community Relations Commission.
The village board voted unanimously to confirm the appointments.
Ramsey is a six-year resident of Flossmoor. He works as a criminal defense investigator for the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. Deugaw is a two-year resident of Flossmoor who works as a human resources professional.