‘Let’s go!’: Aurora police officer rescues man from burning home

An Aurora police officer is being praised as a hero for saving a man from dying in his sleep during a house fire.

Officer Justin Cebulski was the initial first responder on the scene of the Sept. 21 fire on Randall Road.

As flames roared from the roof, Cebulski ran toward the house, Aurora police said. He first directed about six residents away from the home as they escaped the blaze and then learned one man was still inside a bedroom.

Cebulski ran into the house, yelling “Policia!” — Spanish for police.

He found a locked bedroom door, kicked it in, pulled a blanket off the man all while shouting “Let’s go! Let’s go! Outside! Fire!” and escorted him to safety.

Nobody was injured as a result of the fire.

“We’re grateful for his steady focus and decisive action, and proud of the care he showed for the people in that home,” Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas said.

Cebulski was hired in April 2025 and graduated from the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy in August 2025. There he received the George P. Graves Award from his classmates, for demonstrating high integrity, character, dedication and professionalism throughout training.

And running toward danger runs in his family. Justin is the son of retired Aurora officer John Cebulski. Dad was one of five Aurora police officers shot responding to a mass murder in 2019 at the Henry Pratt Co. factory.

JUST program joins IGNITE

For 40 years, JUST of DuPage has been helping detainees in the DuPage County jail improve themselves while awaiting trial or serving sentences.

It offers programs to earn GEDs, learn vocational skills, recover from addictions, partake in therapy and plan for reentry to society.

Now, that effort is tied in to a national organization.

Last Friday, the founder of IGNITE (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education) spoke at a ceremony announcing DuPage had joined the program, an initiative of the National Sheriffs Association.

Genesee County, Michigan Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson stood alongside DuPage Sheriff James Mendrick on a patio in Hope’s Garden, where detainees grow fruits and vegetables, in one of the vocational programs JUST helps run.

Swanson founded IGNITE in September 2020, shortly after becoming sheriff.

DuPage is the first Illinois jail to join IGNITE, which operates at about four dozen sites in 22 states.

Besides tapping into training and expertise, those working in the DuPage programs will be expected to help teach others, nationwide, about their efforts.

“This is the advent of a new correctional system. This is how we rehabilitate. We take our walking crime waves and turn them in to our vocational workers,” Mendrick said.

“There’s a win-win, there’s no downside to this,” he added.

Mendrick is a Republican, and Swanson a Democrat. But “this is not about politics whatsoever,” Mendrick said. “This shows that we are past politics, this is for the betterment of our society. It’s for the future of our children, and it’s to end crime the right way.”

“We need this. We want to be part of this throughout the country. We want to be part of the movement,” said JUST board President Dan Defino. (JUST stands for Justice. Understanding. Service. Teaching.)

The idea for what would become IGNITE struck Swann in 1998, when writing his master’s thesis on crime reduction while also a member of a narcotics squad.

“We arrested our way, we hit doors, we hit confidential informants and undercovers. Didn’t change a thing,” he said.

“But I realized that back then, it’s education, hope and job placement” that changes people, he said. Swanson said IGNITE is a “culture shift” in the jails where it is used.

He started a bare-bones education program after becoming sheriff in 2020, with the help of a local school district. “Ready never comes. Sometimes you got ‘ready, fire, aim,’” he joked.

He established IGNITE as a merit-based system. Incentives, such as extra recreation time or commissary treats, are offered for completion of its programs, plus there are celebrations for graduations.

The program has reduced violence in his jail, both against inmates and officers, Swann said. He also credits it for reducing violence against officers out on the street, because people recognize what the sheriff’s office is trying to do and have more respect for officers.

“Make no mistake, today’s ribbon-cutting is your commitment to go global, because this (JUST) worked great for this county,” Swann said. “But it would be selfish for you to keep it here. Your call to action is to take what you’ve done, and now partnering with IGNITE, which is a national brand.

“We’re not trying to reinvent JUST. Keep what you’re doing, but there’s thousands of communities that don’t have JUST. You know what they want? They want what you have. You know what you’re gonna do? You’re going to show them how to do it,” Swanson said.

copsandcrime@dailyherald.com