After returning from combat in the Pacific during World War II, Russell Harper landed a job as an officer in the West Chicago Police Department.
Not long after that, his father, a battalion chief with the Chicago Fire Department, handed his son a firefighter’s application and said, “You’re not going to get rich doing this, but I guarantee it’s one of the most rewarding careers you could ever have,†according to Harper’s son, Ron.
Harper, whose three brothers also became firefighters in the Chicago area, completed the application, and in 1948 was accepted into the CFD and assigned to a series of firehouses on the Near West Side.
Harper, 94, died Feb. 16 in Glendale, Ariz. Previously a longtime Northwest Side resident, he retired from the fire department in 1985 after 37 years of service and moved to Arizona a year later.
Harper was born and raised on the West Side and graduated from Crane Tech High School. In 1952, he received the prestigious Carter H. Harrison Award. The award, given annually since 1885 to those within the Chicago Fire and Police departments who have performed distinguished acts of bravery in the protection of life or property.
According to a Chicago Tribune story at the time, Harper and his company responded to a fire at 1226 S. Kedzie Ave. on Nov. 1, 1951. Harper entered a burning first floor apartment to rescue a woman who was burned and unconscious on the kitchen floor. After carrying her to safety, Harper collapsed on the sidewalk. He was taken to the hospital and later recovered.
Elmer F. Reske, left, Great Chicago Safety Council vice president, presents a distinguished service award to firefighter Russell Harper in 1952. On Nov. 1, 1951, Harper rescued a woman who was burned and unconscious on the kitchen floor of an apartment on fire at 1226 S. Kedzie Ave. After carrying her to safety, Harper collapsed on the sidewalk. (Chicago Tribune)
“It happened back when there was no such thing as breathing apparatuses,†said his younger brother, Bill, a retired West Chicago fire chief. “During that rescue, Russ’ lungs were filled with smoke, and he barely made it out of that building alive.â€
In the years that followed, Harper also served as a captain on the North Side with Engine 83, at 1219 W. Gunnison St. He and his men were the first engine company on the scene when in May 1979 American Flight 191 went down in Elk Grove Village, just minutes after takeoff from O’Hare International Airport.
Prior to retiring in 1985, his last assignment was as captain at O’Hare Airport.
Harper also is survived by his wife of 73 years, Elia; a daughter, Penelope Campana; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
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