| Name: | Robert Martin |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Ladder operations, SCBA operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2002 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 2001 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Lieutenant Robert Martin of the Chicago Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions to rescue a three-year-old girl from an apartment fire in Chicago, Illinois on April 29, 2001.
At 2:19 p.m., the Chicago Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at 8130 S. Houston Ave. Once there, firefighters learned from bystanders that two children were trapped on the second floor and that two adults had been injured trying to rescue them. A ladder was raised to the second floor. Lieutenant Martin ordered the two adults down the ladder. Then, Martin donned his SCBA and proceeded up the ladder to the second-story window. Martin cut his leg on broken glass as he entered through the window.
Never fearing for his own safety, he proceeded through the opaque smoke in the apartment. He soon found a three-year-old girl with burns covering twenty-percent of her body. He found his way back to the window and handed to the baby to another firefighter. He then resumed his search as the heat of the flames intensified. In the process, he suffered second-degree burns to his ears. After a brief respite, he re-entered the building, as hoses had cleared out some of the flames. As he continued through the apartment, he learned that the second child had been rescued.
Citations:
“Cop, firefighter extol colleagues in New York,” Chicago Tribune, October 10, 2001.
“Illinois Honors Her Own,” The Gong, July-September, 2002.
“State honors individuals for heroic acts,” Illinois Department of Public Health, May 21, 2002.