By Mara H. Gottfried
Pioneer Press
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — The heroic actions of four Maplewood firefighters saved the lives of two unconscious young children rescued from a Vadnais Heights house fire in November, the fire chief said Monday in honoring them.
Responding firefighters received reports that two children were trapped and people were jumping out a townhome’s second story about 5:40 p.m. Nov. 2 . The fire departments of Maplewood, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake and Little Canada responded to the blaze in the 1000 block of Ramsey County Road D East.
The Maplewood crew that was first to arrive found heavy black smoke coming out the front door, and they tried to suppress the fire. At the same time, Capt. Brad McGee started searching the second floor.
“Despite zero visibility conditions,” McGee quickly located a 3-year-old unconscious at the top of the second-floor stairs, said Maplewood Fire and EMS Chief Mike Mondor.
McGee handed the child over to Firefighter/Paramedic Emma Johnson and she carried the child to Firefighter/Paramedic Nick Cook at the front door. He immediately began lifesaving aid.
The crew kept searching and Firefighter/Paramedic Wendy Mainka found a 14-month-old child who was unconscious in a second-floor bedroom. She carried the child to safety.
They continued the search because it wasn’t clear if more people were trapped; they confirmed that other people jumped out of the residence when they were becoming overcome with smoke. The Vadnais Heights fire chief said at the time that a child and an adult had escaped from the townhome and were also taken to the hospital.
The children who were rescued were transported to a hospital “and required lengthy hospital stays, but they were ultimately discharged … without long-term effects from the incident,” Mondor said.
Firefighters also found and rescued the family dog.
Mondor presented the four firefighters with the department’s highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award, along with the Life-Saving Award, at the Maplewood City Council meeting Monday night.
Mondor said if his loved ones needed help, Cook, Johnson, Mainka and McGee “are the people that I (would) want to show up on my family’s worst day.”
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