Firefighter Record
Firefighter Details
| Name | Armando Ballerini |
| Agency | East Peoria Fire Department |
| Rank | Captain |
| Type of Firefighter | Paid-On-Call (POC) |
| Age Range | 56 to 60 |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 11/29/1911 |
| Date of Death | 6/12/1972 |
| Cause of Death | Stress/Overexertion |
| Nature of Death | Heart attack |
| Attribute of Death | [not applicable] |
| Type of Duty | Firefighting operations |
Incident Details
| Incident Name | N/A |
| Incident City | East Peoria |
| Incident State | IL |
| Incident Date | 6/12/1972 23:0 |
| Incident Location | Residential |
| Incident Attribute | Fires |
Incident Summary
At about 11:00 PM on June 12, 1972, Special Captain Armando “Ernie” Ballerini responded on an Engine Company to a structure fire at 105 Moschel in East Peoria. Upon arriving at the scene of the fire, Captain Ballerini, a 25 year veteran of the department, exited his engine and prepared to set up the pump for firefighting operations when he collapsed, unresponsive, at the side of the vehicle. He was immediately treated by his fellow firefighters at the scene and transported to St. Francis Medical Center where he was pronounced dead of a heart attack.
Captain Ballerini was born in Ladd, Illinois on November 29, 1911, a son of Joseph and Erminia Castelli Ballerini. He was married to Mary Mae Cartwright at Princeton on April 12, 1934 and had been a resident of East Peoria since 1936. He joined the East Peoria Fire Department on May 6, 1947. He was survived by his widow, his mother, two brothers and four sisters.
Incident Summary by Lt. Garry Grugan, East Peoria Fire Department
Firefighter and Incident Images
