By Lisa Donovan
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — As flames ripped through a Back of the Yards home Tuesday, firefighters heard the cries of a cat as they opened the front door to save an ailing woman inside.
Chicago firefighter John Gricus and fire Lt. Mike Videka rushed into the home at 47th and Laflin to rescue the woman, while firefighter Chuck Sanow grabbed the cat, its fur singed by the fire and soaking wet from the water.
“A life is a life, no matter whether it’s a person or an animal,” Sanow said.
Mother and son were expected to survive, though the house was destroyed. Sanow praised his fellow firefighters, including Gricus and Videka for saving the mother and Jim Foster, who guided the son out of a top story window and down a ladder to safety. He also said John Duke was instrumental in battling the blaze.
For now, Sanow, 47, plans to touch base with the neighbor who took in the cat. He’s thinking the animal might make a nice addition to the two-dog, one-cat pet family he’s already raising in his Mount Greenwood home.
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