The heavy smoke began to take its toll, but he continued to the bedroom where he found a woman on the bed in a semi conscious state. He managed to pull her from the blazing house and grabbed the garden hose to try and hold the fire until the fire department arrived, which was shortly after. He realized by this time, that he had inhaled quite a bit of smoke and was immediately treated by medics at the scene, and the fire was extinguished quickly. He was advised to go the hospital to be checked, but he refused and signed the release, as he did not want to leave his fiancé by herself. She could not speak English and would wonder where he was when he did not return back from his outing to the store. As a result, he provided the medics with misinformation, other than his name and Minetonka, MN.

When the fire department tried to locate him to recognize him for his heroic efforts, he had already returned back to MN. This did not dissuade us in our attempts to locate him. We contacted Fire Chief Joe Wallin in Minetonka, who assisted us in finding Mr. Putchino. A date was then scheduled for me to present Mr. Putchino this award at the Minetonka Fire Department, as I was attending a conference in the area. Seventy-five people, along with Mr. Putchino’s new wife, turned out to attend the citizen award presentation for a gentleman with no fire experience, but who made a positive difference in the life of another human being.

There is no greater gift than saving the life of another.

John R. Leahy, Jr.
Fire Chief