MONROE - First to arrive on a fire call March 13 in the 1000 block of Fourth Avenue West, Monroe police pulled a resident from his ground floor apartment which was filled with smoke.
Officers Joe Johnson and Michelle Kump found Thomas J. Beckman, 54, in his apartment; they slipped the man outside through his back patio door before he was overcome with smoke inhalation. The officers administered emergency medical procedures while waiting for the arrival of Green County EMS.
Beckman was transported to the emergency room at Monroe Clinic Hospital.
"While the resident's life was most likely not in imminent danger, the officers could not have known that when they entered the smoke-filled apartment in near zero visibility to affect the rescue of this individual," Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch wrote in a memo to Police Chief Fred Kelley. "Their actions reflect great credit upon themselves and the Monroe Police Department. I feel it is important that we recognize their quick and totally appropriate response to a potentially life-threatening situation."
Kelley said Beckman was incapacitated because of his blood alcohol level and was taken into protective custody.
Rausch said the call came in around 10:30 p.m. for a fire at 1070 Fourth Ave. West, apartment No. 3. Rausch and Assistant Fire Chief Lane Heins arrived on scene seven minutes later.
Heins said the cause of the smoke was burnt food on the stove, and the apartment received only smoke damage.
Officers Joe Johnson and Michelle Kump found Thomas J. Beckman, 54, in his apartment; they slipped the man outside through his back patio door before he was overcome with smoke inhalation. The officers administered emergency medical procedures while waiting for the arrival of Green County EMS.
Beckman was transported to the emergency room at Monroe Clinic Hospital.
"While the resident's life was most likely not in imminent danger, the officers could not have known that when they entered the smoke-filled apartment in near zero visibility to affect the rescue of this individual," Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch wrote in a memo to Police Chief Fred Kelley. "Their actions reflect great credit upon themselves and the Monroe Police Department. I feel it is important that we recognize their quick and totally appropriate response to a potentially life-threatening situation."
Kelley said Beckman was incapacitated because of his blood alcohol level and was taken into protective custody.
Rausch said the call came in around 10:30 p.m. for a fire at 1070 Fourth Ave. West, apartment No. 3. Rausch and Assistant Fire Chief Lane Heins arrived on scene seven minutes later.
Heins said the cause of the smoke was burnt food on the stove, and the apartment received only smoke damage.