Photo: wolf entertainment / twitterChicago Med’screw members are real-life heroes.Three men working on the NBC drama saved the life of a 92-year-old woman who was unable to escape a fire in her Chicago apartment building on Oct. 20.At the time, the men were setting up a second filming location for episode 708 titled “Just as a Snake Sheds Its Skin” (which aired on Nov. 10) when crew member and retired Chicago fire captain Ed Freemon, 80, smelled smoke.Upon investigating the smell, Freemon and rigging electricians Pauli Bianco and Chris Sammarco found the Chicago apartment building that had caught on fire. By the time they got there, smoke was billowing out of the structure. Freemon was the first to enter the building, and Bianco and Sammarco followed.The men, who had no fire safety equipment with them, saw a building full of thick, black smoke. Somewhere in the chaos of the burning building, they heard a woman screaming for help.On the third floor of the building, the men discovered a woman around the age of 65 trying to get help for the 92-year-old who was unable to walk down the stairs as she was in a wheelchair. The men took action to get both women out of the building as quickly as possible.Freemon’s fire training came in handy when he realized the blaze was about to engulf them.“When my face started to burn from the heat, I knew the fire was coming right behind us,” Freemon described in apostfromChicago Medproduction company, Wolf Entertainment, on Wednesday. “Pauli grabbed the woman, Chris took the wheelchair, and I took the second woman out. She had big glasses on. I’ll never forget it. She couldn’t see; she was screaming. I told her to calm down and just hold onto my hand.“Freemon said his arm turned black and blue from the “death grip” the woman had on him as they fled the building. “Both people would’ve been dead, there’s no doubt about it. They were too old, they couldn’t make it down the stairs,” he recalled.Then, a wave of flames burst into the hallway of the building, but Sammarco didn’t see it himself. It was a look on the elderly woman’s face that gave away the horror they’d all become witnesses to.“If I could’ve seen it, I would’ve held my breath. I saw the eyes of this older woman and I thought, ‘We’re either both going or both staying. But as I turned around, with the woman on my shoulder, I just sucked it all in. Any small thing was life or death. I’m praying to God ‘Please don’t let me fall with her,’ " Bianco said.They all made it out of the building safely, and fire officials arrived shortly after. “The taste and the smell. It was almost mesmerizing,” Bianco added. “I’m getting choked up. It’s actually touching when I think about it. The right people were there at the right time. Somebody put us there. Something put us there.“Chicago Med, which is currently in its seventh season, has two sister showsChicago P.D. andChicago Fire. The latter was the first of theChicagoseries and aired in 2012.
Photo: wolf entertainment / twitter
Chicago Med’screw members are real-life heroes.Three men working on the NBC drama saved the life of a 92-year-old woman who was unable to escape a fire in her Chicago apartment building on Oct. 20.At the time, the men were setting up a second filming location for episode 708 titled “Just as a Snake Sheds Its Skin” (which aired on Nov. 10) when crew member and retired Chicago fire captain Ed Freemon, 80, smelled smoke.Upon investigating the smell, Freemon and rigging electricians Pauli Bianco and Chris Sammarco found the Chicago apartment building that had caught on fire. By the time they got there, smoke was billowing out of the structure. Freemon was the first to enter the building, and Bianco and Sammarco followed.The men, who had no fire safety equipment with them, saw a building full of thick, black smoke. Somewhere in the chaos of the burning building, they heard a woman screaming for help.On the third floor of the building, the men discovered a woman around the age of 65 trying to get help for the 92-year-old who was unable to walk down the stairs as she was in a wheelchair. The men took action to get both women out of the building as quickly as possible.Freemon’s fire training came in handy when he realized the blaze was about to engulf them.“When my face started to burn from the heat, I knew the fire was coming right behind us,” Freemon described in apostfromChicago Medproduction company, Wolf Entertainment, on Wednesday. “Pauli grabbed the woman, Chris took the wheelchair, and I took the second woman out. She had big glasses on. I’ll never forget it. She couldn’t see; she was screaming. I told her to calm down and just hold onto my hand.“Freemon said his arm turned black and blue from the “death grip” the woman had on him as they fled the building. “Both people would’ve been dead, there’s no doubt about it. They were too old, they couldn’t make it down the stairs,” he recalled.Then, a wave of flames burst into the hallway of the building, but Sammarco didn’t see it himself. It was a look on the elderly woman’s face that gave away the horror they’d all become witnesses to.“If I could’ve seen it, I would’ve held my breath. I saw the eyes of this older woman and I thought, ‘We’re either both going or both staying. But as I turned around, with the woman on my shoulder, I just sucked it all in. Any small thing was life or death. I’m praying to God ‘Please don’t let me fall with her,’ " Bianco said.They all made it out of the building safely, and fire officials arrived shortly after. “The taste and the smell. It was almost mesmerizing,” Bianco added. “I’m getting choked up. It’s actually touching when I think about it. The right people were there at the right time. Somebody put us there. Something put us there.“Chicago Med, which is currently in its seventh season, has two sister showsChicago P.D. andChicago Fire. The latter was the first of theChicagoseries and aired in 2012.
Chicago Med’screw members are real-life heroes.
Three men working on the NBC drama saved the life of a 92-year-old woman who was unable to escape a fire in her Chicago apartment building on Oct. 20.
At the time, the men were setting up a second filming location for episode 708 titled “Just as a Snake Sheds Its Skin” (which aired on Nov. 10) when crew member and retired Chicago fire captain Ed Freemon, 80, smelled smoke.
Upon investigating the smell, Freemon and rigging electricians Pauli Bianco and Chris Sammarco found the Chicago apartment building that had caught on fire. By the time they got there, smoke was billowing out of the structure. Freemon was the first to enter the building, and Bianco and Sammarco followed.
The men, who had no fire safety equipment with them, saw a building full of thick, black smoke. Somewhere in the chaos of the burning building, they heard a woman screaming for help.
On the third floor of the building, the men discovered a woman around the age of 65 trying to get help for the 92-year-old who was unable to walk down the stairs as she was in a wheelchair. The men took action to get both women out of the building as quickly as possible.
Freemon’s fire training came in handy when he realized the blaze was about to engulf them.
“When my face started to burn from the heat, I knew the fire was coming right behind us,” Freemon described in apostfromChicago Medproduction company, Wolf Entertainment, on Wednesday. “Pauli grabbed the woman, Chris took the wheelchair, and I took the second woman out. She had big glasses on. I’ll never forget it. She couldn’t see; she was screaming. I told her to calm down and just hold onto my hand.”
Freemon said his arm turned black and blue from the “death grip” the woman had on him as they fled the building. “Both people would’ve been dead, there’s no doubt about it. They were too old, they couldn’t make it down the stairs,” he recalled.
Then, a wave of flames burst into the hallway of the building, but Sammarco didn’t see it himself. It was a look on the elderly woman’s face that gave away the horror they’d all become witnesses to.
“If I could’ve seen it, I would’ve held my breath. I saw the eyes of this older woman and I thought, ‘We’re either both going or both staying. But as I turned around, with the woman on my shoulder, I just sucked it all in. Any small thing was life or death. I’m praying to God ‘Please don’t let me fall with her,’ " Bianco said.
They all made it out of the building safely, and fire officials arrived shortly after. “The taste and the smell. It was almost mesmerizing,” Bianco added. “I’m getting choked up. It’s actually touching when I think about it. The right people were there at the right time. Somebody put us there. Something put us there.”
Chicago Med, which is currently in its seventh season, has two sister showsChicago P.D. andChicago Fire. The latter was the first of theChicagoseries and aired in 2012.
source: people.com
