Fire. Smoke. Trapped occupants on an upper floor of an apartment building. These conditions faced Burbank firefighters arriving at an apartment-building fire at 7820 South Rutherford Ave. on April 4. At 6:45 a.m., many residents would be sleeping, but firefighters were wide awake and taking swift action to save lives.
Burbank firefighters were honored by the City Council on May 26 for a high-risk rescue that saved multiple residents from that smoke-filled building. Lt. Michael Hyzynski’s crew pulled a man from a third-floor balcony 30 feet above ground while battling flames and smoke — one of the most dangerous rescues in the fire service.
Mayor David Gilgenberg read a resolution honoring the firefighters and detailing each person’s role in the rescue.
“We don’t have this very often, but when we do, I’m glad the chiefs are doing this right and that City Council is responding accordingly,” Gilgenberg said.
Lt. Hyzynski commanded Truck 206, which arrived on scene first and identified a man trapped by smoke and flames on the third-floor balcony 30 feet above the ground. The lieutenant ordered Acting Engineer/Driver William Halpin and Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic Aiden Pfeiffer to perform a ground ladder rescue, while directing an attack hose line to the fire floor to isolate the fire and safeguard the rescue.
Halpin responded immediately and, without the chance to put on his self-contained breathing apparatus, ascended through the smoke and heat before successfully securing the man to the ladder and returning him to Pfeiffer on the ground.
“When we turned onto the block, we could see the smoke coming from the building,” recounted Halpin. “It was really smoky up there, and you could barely see the guy when we pulled up.”
Halpin received the Medal of Valor for his rescue — the highest honor bestowed upon a firefighter in recognition of acts of exceptional bravery and selflessness.
With one life saved, the work to extricate the endangered residents continued.
Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic Griffin Allen and Lt. Hyzynski ascended the smoke-filled stairwell. The building’s fire alarm wasn’t working. The crew began pounding on residents’ doors to wake them and get them to safety.
Battalion Chief David Chihocki coordinated the searches of all six apartments to ensure no civilian occupants remained in harm’s way.
Lt. Edward Hargus directed Engineer/Paramedic Ryan Riley and Firefighter/Paramedic Maxwell Furiasse to ventilate toxic smoke and gases on the rooftop while leading Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic Joshua Swann, Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Zurek, and Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic Donaciano Villalobos in interior searches.
Together, the firefighters prevented the loss of life and were presented Unit Citation Awards and Individual Commendations of Performance, as well as copies of the resolution passed by the Burbank City Council.