| Name: | Daniel Walter |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Alton Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Valor |
| Year of Award: | 1994 |
| Incident City: | Alton |
| Year of Incident: | 1992 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Captain Daniel Walter of the Alton Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts to extinguish a fire that took the lives of two firefighters in Alton, Illinois on October 24, 1992.
Arsonists attempting to commit insurance fraud set fire to a vacant two-story residence at 1414 Highland Avenue around 3:00 A.M. Alton firefighters arrived to a fully-involved fire that was so furious it twisted the frame of the house from its foundation, causing the second floor to collapse. Captain Gary S. Porter and Firefighter Tim Lewis were killed when the house collapsed on them. Captain Walter was standing where the window-frame came down, resulting in severe leg injuries. Captain Porter and Firefighter Lewis were the first firefighters to die in the line of duty in the Alton Fire Department’s 111 year history.
Citations:
“Fire investigators in Alton ‘about to develop suspect,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 27, 1992.
“Firemen killed in Alton – deaths of two men tentatively laid to arson; reward is set,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 25, 1992.
Gary Porter and Timmy Lee Lewis, Illinois Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths Database.
“Paying tribute to fallen comrades – 2 firemen eulogized in Alton,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 28, 1992.
“2 firefighters called lucky to escape death – Coroner’s jury rules deaths of 2 as homicides,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 19, 1992.