DUNMORE, Pa. — A firefighter from Lackawanna County will receive an award for his heroic acts fighting a deadly fire earlier this year.
The fire back in March is one that members of the Dunmore Fire Department won't soon forget. A mother and three of her children died as the result of the fire, but one of her children is living today because of the actions of Lt. Eric Shigo.
In early March, before the world would know the worst of what 2020 would have in store, Dunmore Fire Lieutenant Eric Shigo had the worst call in his 17 years fighting fires.
"By far, this is the worst call of my career. You know, the most tragic, largest loss of life, most intense," said Lt. Shigo.
It happened on 3rd Street in the borough. Lt. Shigo was the first firefighter to work his way up to the third-floor Apartment where a mom, dad, and their five children lived.
Through the heavy smoke, Shigo spotted a 3-year-old girl, covered her with his jacket, and carried her to safety. He'd go back to rescue a 1-year-old boy who later died from his injuries.
The building became too dangerous before firefighters could reach the three other children and their mother.
"One of the kids that unfortunately didn't make it was the same age as my little one, and that was very, very difficult. I remember, actually, by the time that I finally got home, I went over to his mother's house and gave him a big hug in the morning. It's still really tough thinking about it."
Shigo is being recognized with a Spirit of Courage award for his bravery that night by the Lehigh Valley Burn Unit and the Burn Prevention Network. It's an honor Shigo accepts reluctantly. He's willing to talk about what happened only to help prevent such tragedies from happening and to prepare other firefighters for when they do.
"I'm a state fire academy instructor, so I go all throughout the state teaching classes, and I have a new message for firefighters. I'm going out there and sharing my experience, and hopefully, if anyone has anything similar, we can talk about. That's one way that I've learned to deal with this is to get it out there and talk to people, not keep it all in."
Lt. Shigo will receive that award in a virtual ceremony Wednesday night. He tells us that the 3-year-old girl he rescued that night and her dad have both made a full recovery.