MAYOR EMANUEL, FIRE OFFICIALS DEDICATE BADGE OF FALLEN FIREFIGHTER CAPTAIN HERBERT JOHNSON
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago and Fire Department officials today dedicated the badge of Captain Herbert T. Johnson who lost his life while fighting an extra alarm house fire in November of 2012. Many friends and family of Captain Johnson also attended the ceremony.
“The men and women of the Chicago Fire Department represent the highest values of the City of Chicago, having dedicated themselves to serving the people of our great city,” said Mayor Emanuel. “They truly are Chicago’s bravest, and nobody embodied that spirit more than Captain Herbie Johnson.”
Captain Johnson’s badge was added to the honor wall at the Robert J. Quinn Chicago Fire Academy where it will be displayed with the badges of other Chicago firefighters and paramedics killed in the line of duty. His badge will be maintained along with the 566 badges that are a permanent part of the display honoring those who gave their lives in service to the people of the City of Chicago.
“Captain Johnson’s badge will remain here in a place of honor,” said Commissioner Santiago, who was a personal friend of Captain Johnson. “We will always remember his service, his humor and his smile, we have truly lost a piece of our family.”
Captain Johnson was fatally injured while fighting a fire in the 2300 block of West 50th Place in November 2012 during a flashover on the second floor. Public safety service is a tradition in the Johnson family. One of the Captain’s brothers serves as a firefighter, three brothers serve as Chicago Police Officers, and his sister is a retired Chicago Police Officer.
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