CPD officers honored for rescuing family from Little Village fire
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Every month, the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation highlights the bravery of Chicago police officers. On Thursday, the honorees included officers who saved seven people from a burning building in Little Village last year.
Officers Olivia Sardella and Sean Murray were on patrol around 3:15 a.m. on Dec. 20, when they smelled smoke in the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue, and saw a nearby house on fire.
They spotted a woman in distress on the porch, and she told them her husband and grandchildren were inside. After notifying emergency dispatchers of the fire, the two officers went inside, and helped rescue six children and a man who were still inside.
The officers said it was all in a day's work.
"Every day, we encounter things unexpectedly. A lot of our job is impromptu, on the spot. It feels good to get recognition for that. Thanks to my partner today, we made it out safe, we're good," Sardella said.
The Memorial Foundation also honored three other officers for helping the victims of a shooting on New Year's Eve in Wicker Park. The officers provided first aid to three people who were wounded in a shooting in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue before paramedics arrived.
