Woman Rescued From Fire At Manhattan Townhouse

MANHATTAN, IL - A woman was rescued from a Manhattan townhouse early one morning last week thanks to the heroic actions of firefighters, a female police officer and a civilian who just happened to be out walking her dog at 3 a.m.

Tracy Jule, a resident of one of the townhouses on Faraday Road had just returned from Silver Cross Hospital early Thursday morning for a health issue involving her daughter when she was walking her dog and noticed a significant amount of smoke coming from the top floor of another home on the block.

When she looked up there, Jule noticed a woman attempting to put out a mattress fire on her own.

"I called 911," Jule said. "The 911 Dispatcher was instructing me, as I begged and pleaded through the open upstairs window, eventually screaming at the elderly lady upstairs engulfed in the heavy smoke. She argued with me that she couldn't get down the stairs and told me to just go away and leave her alone... I yelled back absolutely not, then I saw her fall to the ground."

When first responders arrived, Jule says it was a female Manhattan police officer, one Manhattan Police Chief Joseph Wazny later identified as Tina Jasudowicz, who "courageously broke down the front door, desperately trying to get inside to help this lady." Wazny said Officer Ross Chibe was also involved at the scene.

Both officers battled intense heat as they made their way up to the second level of the home, but were not able to reach the woman without fire equipment as the flames made that impossible.

Manhattan Fire Protection Deputy Chief Steve Malone said the woman was soon after rescued by fire units from Manhattan and other nearby departments. There were no injuries, and the building itself sustained no significant damage.

Wazny called the actions of both police officers "very brave."

"It is difficult for police officers not to do everything they can to rescue someone in a situation like that," he said. "Their heroics can't be understated."

Jule says other residents on the block also woke up to the fire and emergency response, some offering other forms of assistance as well.

"I am so proud tonight to be a part of such a wonderful town," she said. "This could have ended with 3 displaced or even deceased families in Manhattan."

Wazny also said that had it not been for Jule walking her dog at that exact time and place, the incident could have become tragic. But instead, the rescued woman did not even need to be taken to the hospital that morning.

"I know God placed me getting home just in time to save lives.... I walk with peace in my heart, knowing today that everyone survived," Jule said.

Photo courtesy of Tracy Jule