Gurnee awards hero who alerted residents of fire

Benjamin Moon's decision to enter a smoky building to alert residents of a fire in a condominium complex was honored by Gurnee leaders Monday night.

Moon, 38, was presented with a lifesaving award by Fire Chief Fred Friedl, Police Chief Robert Jones and Mayor Kristina Kovarik.

"Ben, I want to say this to you: You are truly a hero," Jones told Moon, who was accompanied by his wife, daughter and mother-in-law for the presentation at Monday's village board session.

Moon and his family were headed to a gathering the evening of Aug. 20 when he spotted smoke coming from a six-story condo on Vose Drive in the HeatherRidge subdivision. While his wife, Michelle, called 911 from a wireless telephone, Moon ran into the building.

Concerns about older residents being in the structure prompted Moon to go inside and immediately pull a fire alarm. Gurnee fire officials said he knocked on doors and told residents they needed to evacuate.

Moon went from floor to floor, even helping a woman who couldn't walk very well down a half-flight of stairs before getting her to firefighters. Residents praised Moon for his action that helped everyone get out of the condo safely.

At one point, Moon said a day after the incident, the smoke was so bad inside the building that he could barely see his hand in front of his face.

Moon's wife and 16-year-old daughter, Shelbee, grabbed chairs and helped escort the condo residents across the street. He credited his wife's and daughter's work as he accepted the lifesaving award from the Gurnee officials.

Friedl said Moon did "one heck of a job" at HeatherRidge and submitted a memo seeking the presentation of the lifesaving award. Kovarik said what Moon did was heroic and most worthy of the commendation.

"A lot of people won't stick their necks out," Kovarik said.

None of the roughly three dozen residents home at the time was injured in the fire, authorities said. They said most of those affected were seniors.

Hero: Wife, daughter also helped