Four firefighters from the town of Madison recently received the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs' Association Heroism Award.
Sean McGinnis, James Anderson, Chris Klapoetke and Lt. Mike Schnabel were nominated for their performance at a fire on Sept. 5, 2002. Early that morning, the department responded to a blaze at a 24-unit apartment building at 2929 Curry Parkway. Two children, ages 1 1/2 and 8 months, were trapped in a bedroom in the unit where the fire originated. The children's mother jumped 12 feet to the ground from the bedroom window.
Anderson and Schnabel responded to the call from home, and both arrived just before the firetrucks. They manned a department ladder and entered the bedroom by breaking a window. Meanwhile, interns McGinnis and Klapoetke entered with a hose through the front door.
"The conditions were so smoky that the four ran into each other in the bedroom without even knowing the other had been there," said David Bloom, the town of Madison fire chief.
The children were then lifted out of the window and down the ladder to safety.
It had been just six minutes since the arrival of the fire units. The fire was
extinguished in 15 minutes.
"When I got there the fire was out and the kids were safe. It was a great feeling. They did a fantastic job," Bloom said.
The award, which is given annually, was presented to the four firefighters at the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs' Association conference in La Crosse on June 21.
Bloom described the four as "well-deserving and humble" and noted that McGinnis, Anderson, Klapoetke and Schnabel all "feel that the whole department should get recognition."
E-mail: jquinn@madison.com