Fire. Smoke. Trapped occupants on an upper floor of an apartment building. These conditions faced Burbank firefighters arriving at an apartment-building fire at 7820 South Rutherford Ave. on April 4. At 6:45 a.m., many residents would be sleeping, but firefighters were wide awake and taking swift action to save lives.
Burbank firefighters were honored by the City Council on May 26 for a high-risk rescue that saved multiple residents from that smoke-filled building. Lt. Michael Hyzynski’s crew pulled a man from a third-floor balcony 30 feet above ground while battling flames and smoke — one of the most dangerous rescues in the fire service.
Mayor David Gilgenberg read a resolution honoring the firefighters and detailing each person’s role in the rescue…