Elgin firefighter lauded for rescuing toddler from burning home

An Elgin firefighter has been honored for risking his life by rushing into a burning home last month to save a toddler strapped in his highchair while smoke closed in on the child's head.

The Elgin-based Watch City Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1307 presented Firefighter Kevin Hartmann, 30, with a certificate Monday night recognizing him for serving and protecting his community.

The group only gives the award out on rare occasions, said VFW Cmdr. Doc Sheehan.

"All firefighters are heroes," Sheehan said, adding he will seek statewide honors for Hartman at the VFW's annual convention next year. "He's just representative of a large group of heroes."

The VFW learned about Hartmann's bravery through Elgin City Councilman Richard Dunne, another Elgin firefighter and VFW member who was on the scene for the Nov. 19 blaze.

Hartmann said he entered the house after the boy's mother told him the 2-year-old was still inside. He ran upstairs and found smoke hovering above the child's head, then quickly removed the toddler from his high chair, rushed him outside and gave the boy to a paramedic.

Hartmann, an Elgin firefighter for two years, downplayed his heroism, saying he was just doing his job.

"It was a very, very quick scenario, not much glory when you break it down," he said.

It's not the first award Hartmann has earned for saving a child's life.

In 2005, when he was a police officer in Joliet, Hartmann received department-level commendations for administering CPR to save the life of a baby boy who had fallen head first into a bucket filled with Pine Sol and bleach.

Hartmann said it is the men and women of the VFW who are the real heroes.

"They're the ones who gave up so much of themselves for their families and friends," Hartmann said. "What I did, it only took me 30 seconds."

Authorities have accused the toddler's father, James R. Beavers, of the 500 block of Cumberland Circle, of setting the Nov. 19 fire. He has been charged with two counts of arson, two counts of aggravated arson, aggravated resisting a police officer and two counts of obstructing a firefighter. Beavers also was charged with obstructing firefighters who were trying to control the blaze, which caused an estimated $50,000 damage and left the home uninhabitable.