MOLINE, Ill. — Four officers from the Moline Police Department were recognized with an award after they rescued a woman from a burning building in mid-March.
The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police announced on Wednesday, April 7 that they had presented the Valor Award to Sergeant Derrick Cullison and officers Joshua McManus, Andrew Compton and Cody Parmenter from MPD for heroic actions taken on a March 15 fire rescue.
On that day at about 3:30 a.m., the group was deployed to a house fire in Moline that was deliberately ignited. The four officers went into the building to rescue its sole occupant; a woman who then began to resist the officers.
Despite her reported combativeness, the officers were eventually able to evacuate the woman from the building, saving her life.
Because of the extra time spent in the building, the officers were sent to the hospital with serious smoke inhalation.
“Thanks to the heroic actions of these four officers, no lives were lost in an early morning arson fire that could easily have become a tragedy,” said FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood, who presented the awards in Moline on Tuesday, April 6. “Their efforts and sacrifice embody the true meaning of the police motto, 'to protect and serve.'
