Joliet, IL, Battalion Chief, Maintenance Worker Rescue Two from Balcony

    June 11, 2025
    The mother and toddler were stranded on the third-floor balcony of a burning Joliet building until they were rescued.

    A maintenance worker and a Joliet battalion chief teamed up to rescue a woman and toddler trapped on a third-story balcony.

    Everything came together in the nick of time. Javier Macias saw the stranded family and grabbed an extension ladder from a shed. Joilet Battalion Chief Dan Berta, clearing a nearby wreck, saw the smoke and responded.

    The father shimmed down a pipe while a woman and three-year-old remained on the balcony, abc7 reported.

    Berta climbed the ladder and rescued the 3-year-old, and later, the mother.

    "Very fortunate, you know, the maintenance here was quick to see what was going on, got a ladder going here. And then, with our battalion chief being so close here, I mean, it got him down quick and saved a disaster," Joliet fire Battalion Chief Jim Batusich said.

    About the Author

    Susan Nicol | News Editor

    Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues. 

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