6 Officers Honored for Heroic Actions in Fire : Public safety: The city gives the police officers special commendation awards for saving lives during a high-rise blaze.

Six Beverly Hills police officers were hailed as heroes by their mayor and City Council Tuesday for crossing the Beverly Hills-Los Angeles border to take control of a fire and save the lives of many occupants of a flaming Century City high-rise that was home to many elderly residents.

It was the second time in a week the six had been feted. Last Friday, they received certificates of appreciation from Los Angeles Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky at a ceremony during a Los Angeles City Council meeting. They will also receive awards from the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Fire Commission.

On Tuesday, Officers David Armour, Kyle Batty, Robert Bloore, Brad Cornelius, John Crawford and Marcelo Rodriguez received special commendation awards from the city of Beverly Hills for their roles during the early-morning fire on Sept. 17 that killed two people.

Beverly Hills Mayor Vicki Reynolds recounted how the six men, having completed an emergency call in Beverly Hills, saw the fire in the 20-story condominium building and rushed to the scene as they reported it to the Los Angeles Fire Department. They climbed 19 flights of stairs, where Crawford grabbed a fire hose and fought the blaze. The men helped four elderly residents--three in wheelchairs--down several flights of stairs to safety and conducted a floor-by-floor evacuation of occupants. About 250 fled in their nightclothes.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Beverly Hills resident Ken Goldman took the microphone, with his brother, Ronnie Goldman, at his side. “Our mother was the 92-year-old woman who was carried from the 14th floor by one of these officers,” he said. “She and our father moved to Beverly Hills in 1949, and she was very active in the city. It is a sweet irony that now that she can’t care for herself she was rescued by these officers.”

After plaques were handed out and photos snapped, Councilman Maxwell Salter said: “What we have been hearing about law enforcement--the sheriff’s office, the LAPD--has been less than good. What you have done for all of law enforcement is something we can all be proud of.”

In the lobby after the presentation, the officers reflected on the incident and the ensuing recognition.

The men interviewed said they had had no formal training in firefighting. But Bloore, who carried an invalid out of the building in his arms, said his father, a retired Beverly Hills firefighter, had been an influence.

Batty said he had picked up some pointers from his brother, a Los Angeles County firefighter. Batty had also received some training while working in the jail system of the Sheriff’s Department. “It’s a lot different without equipment,” he said. “We just had T-shirts that someone handed to us to wrap around our faces.”

The police officers were treated for smoke inhalation and fatigue at UCLA Medical Center.

“I didn’t think about (the danger),” Batty said. “I always expected to have to do something like this sooner or later.”

Cornelius recalled the gratification he felt “from the people’s faces as we were helping them down. That’s what we’re in this job for,” he said. He was especially proud that “the Fire Department credited us with containing the fire. And we’ve gotten a ton of letters,” he said, grinning.