Humble and Appreciative, Lake Bluff Officers Recall Heroic Fire Rescue

Ten year-old Gable Schmidt wants to take his dad to show-and-tell.

Gable’s dad is Lake Bluff Police Officer Damon Schmidt.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 20, Schmidt and fellow officers James Reynolds and Thomas Vinson pulled 50 year-old Kevin Westre from his burning Lake Bluff home, saving his life.

“To think that these men, without any hesitation, without any question for their own safety saved my life… I don’t know what the words are. There are no words to describe when someone does that. And it wasn’t one officer, it wasn’t two, it was three. It's incredible,” Westre said.

The three officers were recognized for their actions by the Village Board of Trustees and Police Chief Bill Gallagher at the board’s meeting on Feb. 28.

Gallagher read from his letter of commendation to the officers at the meeting.

“It is very clear that your attention while on routine patrol, your decisive response and your disregard for your own personal safety resulted in saving this man’s life,” Gallagher said.

Village President Christine Letchinger said although these actions are expected from police offers, they still require recognition.

“Some of us teach accounting for a living and some of us save life,” Letchinger said, referencing her own profession.

“We all expect police officers to do what is necessary to save a life. These men had no guarantee they would be able to crawl out of the fire, but they did what was necessary to save a life,” Letchinger said.

The meeting was standing room only, packed with friends and family of those involved. 

“My entire neighborhood was there. My best friends came to shake the hands of the men that saved my life, to thank them for what they did for me. I was so happy the town turned out the way they did,” Westre said.

All three officers said they were surprised and humbled by the crowd.

“We didn’t think that many people would show up. To us it was a good call, a good day because nobody was hurt," Vinson said. "To us it is just part of the job, something you get paid to do. You are paid to run toward something everyone else is running way from."

Officer Schmidt said was on a routine patrol near the Lake Bluff Metra station just before 4 a.m. when he spotted what looked like a fog bank. He knew the temperature wasn’t right for fog and headed toward the area.

“I smelled smoke, looked over and saw the glow of the fire on Woodland Avenue,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said he pulled up to the house and called in the fire to the police and fire stations before grabbing the fire extinguisher from his squad car and approaching the house. He said he initially suspected someone could be inside because of a car in the driveway.

A former volunteer firefighter, Schmidt knew the risk he was taking approaching the fire without any of the proper gear or equipment.

“There was no way I was going way into house," Schmidt said. "Just trying to do perimeter type of deal. I understand the smoke and the intense heat is too much for someone who doesn’t have a pack. I was aware of how dangerous it was."

Schmidt made a couple of attempts to enter the burning home on his own before the arrival of officers Reynolds and Vinson.

“I knocked open the front door, yelled in and didn’t hear anything. Flames and heat and smoke overwhelmed me and I tried to make my way back, trying to knock down the fire as much as I could,” Schmidt said.

Once officers Reynolds and Vinson arrived on scene, they grabbed their own squad car extinguishers and joined Schmidt in trying to put out some of the fire.

“The smoke was so heavy we were saying it looked like someone had sprayed the door with black spray paint. We couldn’t see inside at all, we could see only two or three feet from the floor up,” Vinson said.

After unsuccessful attempts by all three to enter the home, Schmidt used the battering ram to open a set of glass French doors.

“I knocked out the glass and kind of fell into the room. I got down on my hands and knees and as I was crawling I felt (Westre’s) leg and yelled out that I had found somebody. I tried to pull on him but couldn’t grab him myself,” Schmidt said.

Westre said he had collapsed after taking his dog out Sunday morning.

“I woke up and took my dog out. I turned around and there was a wall of flames. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and that’s the last thing I remember,” Westre said.

Reynolds joined Schmidt, and they were able to lift Westre from the house.

“Officer Schmidt grabbed his legs and I grabbed his arms and we pulled him out of the house toward the street. Once we saw Mr. Westre lying inside, we just had to do it. That’s what we’re here for. We were just reacting to what we saw,” Reynolds said.

Schmidt said he and Reynolds tried to get Westre as far away from the smoke, flames and any further harm as possible.

“When the Lake Bluff Fire Department showed up, we didn’t know if this guy was dead or alive,” Schmidt said. “He had so much soot around his nose and mouth area. We cleaned him up, found a pulse and put high-flow oxygen on him right away. By that point we could tell he was semi-conscious.” 

Westre was transported to Lake Forest Hospital and stayed with his parents in Lake Forest after being released. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

By the time Westre was pulled from the house, Lake Forest police had arrived on the scene, as well as the Lake Bluff and Lake Forest Fire Departments.

“The fire department was there pretty quick. Four in the morning on a Sunday is not an ideal time for calling out a fire department, especially when you have a volunteer fire department like Lake Bluff does,” Vinson said.

Vinson said the success of the rescue was due to the collaboration of all departments involved.

“This was an example of good teamwork between all the different agencies there. Officers were there from three departments, and multiple fire departments. To be able to get everyone on the same page that quickly was great to see,” Vinson said.

Thanks to all departments involved, Westre was able to celebrate his 50th birthday on Feb. 28, the night of the officer’s recognition.

“I have enjoyed the service and protection from the Lake Bluff Police Department for the last 27 years, and in one moment it hit home as to what that really means,” Westre said.