"The Ultimate Sacrifice"

"The Ultimate Sacrifice". . Near this spot on June 2, 1974, Captain Stanley Balsis and Firefighter Michael Whalen launched a rescue craft to save a man trapped in the boiling backwash at the base of the Kimball Street Dam. The frightened man, who rode an inflatable raft over the dam on a dare, clung precariously to the rubber vessel as the rescue boat approached. But as Balsis and Whalen drew near, the violent hydraulics of the rain-swollen river capsized their boat, trapping them as well. Ironically, the stranded rafter was able to grab hold of the firemen's boat, which shot out of the powerful undertow to safety. Firefighter Whalen struggled for several minutes before the weight and force of the churning water defeated him. Captain Balsis, battered and injured from the intense pounding, managed to cling bravely to the raft, which remained trapped in the backwash. He struggled for forty-five minutes, as his fellow firemen lined the bridge and both shores. Their repeated efforts to save him failed, and at 5:45 P.M., Captain Balsis succumbed, exhausted and able to fight no more. Captain Stanley Balsis and Firefighter Michael Whalen gave their lives on that day to save another man. , They Will Always Be Remembered As Elgin's Heroes.. , This monument is dedicated to Firefighters everywhere who risk their lives for the safety of everyone. , , "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." , John 15:13