The Cicero Town Council presented Tom Artman with the Red Bridge Outstanding Citizen award, the highest honor the Town has to bestow on a citizen, at its Oct. 16 Town Council meeting. The award recognizes Mr. Artman’s act of heroism and courage during a house fire in his neighborhood on Sept. 5.
“The Town of Cicero would like to honor and thank Mr. Artman for his quick thinking and selfless actions on the evening on Sept. 5,” said Town Councilman Brett Foster. “He risked his own life by going above and beyond in every respect to ensure that his neighbors were safe. We are proud to award him with the Red Bridge Outstanding Citizen award, our highest honor.”
The house fire began in the early evening on Sept. 5. At 5:01 p.m., the Cicero Fire Department was notified of the house fire and were on the scene fighting the fire by 5:06 p.m. Artman saw the smoke coming from his neighbor’s house, and fearing there could be people inside, he ran across the street and burst through the front door. Finding no one inside the home, he rescued the family’s dog Junior and rushed him to safety.
Artman’s heroic act went well beyond that. He went back to the home to shut off the gas outside the home to try keep the fire from spreading through the neighborhood. As he went back, there was a huge explosion from an ignited propane tank, which blew Artman back and threw dangerous debris around him. He continued to push forward. He turned off the gas and pulled the meter from the house. If he had not shut the gas off, it could have resulted in a much larger explosion, which could have damaged several additional homes and injured or killed many people.
Councilman Brett Foster (left) and Councilman Rusty Miller with Outstanding Citizen Award recipient Tom Artman. (Photo provided)
When the Cicero Fire Department arrived on scene, Artman assisted fire investigators with valuable camera footage from his home security system.
The Cicero Fire Department was assisted by the fire departments from Jackson Township, Noblesville, Sheridan and Westfield. Cicero Battalion Chief Christian Herron coordinated the efforts of all five departments, and units were on scene until 7:52 p.m.
Cicero Fire Chief Lance Overholser said, “We are very grateful for the assistance from Mr. Artman. His quick thinking and actions limited damage to surrounding property, and aided in the rapid containment of the fire. His cooperation with the fire investigation was appreciated as well. Mr. Artman is very deserving of the award bestowed upon him by the Cicero Town Council.”
Family, friends and neighbors gathered to say thank you to Artman. He was grateful and humbled by the award, saying, “I want to thank the Town Council, my neighbors and everyone for this honor. However the real heroes are the men and women of the Cicero Fire Department, EMTs, Paramedics, the police department, Hamilton County Sheriff’s department and all of the fire departments who were there on Sept. 5. They do this every day and I was just at the right place at the right time, and I did what anyone else would have done.”
Amy Smith and her family are especially grateful to him for breaking down the door to make sure that they were safe and not at home when he saw the smoke coming from their house. The Cicero community, from the Hamilton Heights school system to members of the Cicero Christian Church, has been an amazing support to the family in helping them find temporary housing and making sure that the family has what they need to get back on their feet.
For more information on the Town of Cicero, visit ciceroin.org.