| Name: | Gary Coney |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 1998 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 1997 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Probationary Firefighter Gary Coney of Hook and Ladder Company 15 of the Chicago Fire Department received the Medal of Valor for his actions to rescue a child from an apartment fire in Chicago, Illinois on February 9, 1997.
When Hook and Ladder Company 15 responded to an apartment fire at 5210 S. Drexel Avenue, Gary Coney had only been a firefighter for nine months. On the scene, a woman approached the company and alerted them that her two-year-old boy was trapped on the second floor of the three-story building. Through dense, smoke, Coney felt his way through to the apartment, which was engulfed in flames. He found the boy unconscious on a couch in the living room. He carried the child into the hallway, took off his mask, and gave it to the boy, sacrificing his own breath so that they boy could have his own.
Citation:
”Police, fire heroes get their due,” Chicago Tribute, October 8, 1997.