SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Normally, Iowa lawmaker Chris Hall spends his days battling bureaucrats and bills. However, on a late night in May, he and his friend Mark Stewart took on a blaze at a Sioux City apartment complex.
And for their efforts, the two men were honored by Sioux City Fire and Rescue at a ceremony Wednesday.
"They did exactly what they should have done in this case, and I'm sure that they saved numerous lives," Sioux City Fire Chief Tom Everett said.
The fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. May 16th. The cause is still unknown, but officials say it began on the balcony of apartment 85.
"I saw smoke billowing, and I thought well that's a lot of smoke for, a lot of people grill you know, so I thought someone really burned something or there's a fire, and I kind of thought it must be a fire," Mark Stewart, one of the award recipients said.
As soon as they realized what was happening, the two had the presence of mind to try to wake as many neighbors as possible. They knocked on doors, shouted, and rang the buzzers to alert the residents. They also attempted to put the fire out using fire extinguishers.
"We tried to at least wake up as many of our neighbors as we could, we tried to at least let them know that the building was on fire and hopefully get inside to kind of contain it or take a fire extinguisher to it for as long as we could," Chris Hall said.
Looking back, the two say that the night was full of adrenaline and went very quickly. But the two modest heroes maintain that they did what anyone else would do.
"It's really an extremely humbling experience. I think that it's something unexpected but something I'm very grateful for, and a kind gesture from the city and the Fire Department," Hall said.
The Sioux City Fire Department called the act "exemplary citizenship" and said the two men "most certainly saved lives and property."
Rep. Chris Hall and Mark Stewart receive Citizen Lifesaver Award for their efforts the night of the Glen Oaks Fire.
