| Name: | James Purl |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Chicago Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Type of Duty: | Firefighting operations, Ladder operations, Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 1994 |
| Incident City: | Chicago |
| Year of Incident: | 1993 |
| Incident Location Type: | Commercial |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
Lieutenant James Purl of the Chicago Fire Department was awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts to rescue two victims from the deadly Paxton Hotel fire in Chicago, Illinois on March 16, 1993.
The Paxton Hotel fire remains one of the deadliest fires in Chicago’s history, taking the lives of 19 people. One of the many heroes that day was Lieutenant Purl, who arrived with the First Battalion. He later told the Chicago Tribune, “I decided the first [victim] I saw was going to be the first one I saved.” He spotted a victim hanging out the window of Room 335. He proceeded up his 38-foot ladder and rescued a male victim, who he almost dropped on his way down the long ladder. He was then informed that another victim was in the same room. He made his way back up the ladder. He entered the apartment, crawling through the thick smoke. Luckily, he was able to find her. He placed her into a tower ladder basket and administered CPR. Purl subsequently rescued two unconscious females, one from the first-floor, and the other from the second-floor, right before it was entirely consumed by flames.
Citations:
“City honors its police, firefighter heroes,” Chicago Tribune, October 6, 1993.
“1993 Firehouse Magazine Heroism & Community Service Awards,” Firehouse, April, 1994.