Countywide : Firefighter, Officers Win Medal of Valor

A county firefighter and three city police officers will receive the county’s highest honor Tuesday for rescuing a 9-month-old Cypress girl from her flame-engulfed home earlier this year.

Firefighter Jeff Reinig, Cypress Police Officer Stephen Spernak and La Palma Police Officers Mark Yokoyama and Craig Schmelter responded to the midnight fire at 8551 Moody St. on Jan. 25 and rescued Chelsea Burris from a playpen in the living room of her family’s home.

The four will be awarded the Medal of Valor by county supervisors at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room at Santa Ana’s Hall of Administration.

Yokoyama, a seven-year veteran, said he has responded to fires before but “none like that, where you couldn’t see your hand in front of you.”

When Yokoyama arrived at the fire, he said people were screaming and Spernak was yelling, “Get the baby!”

The police were able to calm the child’s parents and find out which room she was in.

Spernak and Schmelter broke the windows of the home to ventilate the dwelling and aid a rescue attempt.

Then Spernak and Yokoyama entered the building without oxygen masks or coats to rescue the infant but were unable to find her.

The two got within 10 feet of the girl,but could not see her because of the smoke, Yokoyama said.

“We just kept coughing and couldn’t even hold our breath any longer without passing out,” Yokoyama said.

Yokoyama and Spernak escaped through an open window and told Reinig where to look for Chelsea.

Equipped with an oxygen mask, fire coat and flashlight, Reinig was able to find her in 15 to 30 seconds, Yokoyama said.

“It was a team effort by both agencies. There was no way we were going to lose that kid,” Spernak said. “We were going to take that house apart” if necessary.

The officers and the child were treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation, minor burns and cuts.