By BETH ZUMWALT
Eli Brown
Sept. 13 was another day for Eli Brown. Brown, a Winchester native, was driving home from class at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, when he saw two women running across the street. Slowing down Brown looked around for what they were running from.
“Then I saw it,” Brown said. “It was an apartment complex on fire.”
With no emergency services on the scene, Brown decided to take matters into his own hands and entered the building.
I was just going to every door, knocking and yelling ‘Fire,’” Brown said. “At that time the fire was contained to one end of the complex.”
Brown said very few people were home at the time of the fire, but, he was able to get two or three people out of the building.
“They didn’t even know it was on fire.” Brown said.
Brown said he never once thought about his own safety.
“I wasn’t scared at all,” Brown said. “I think the adrenaline kicked in.”
For his actions, Brown was presented with the Edwardsville Citizen Accommodation Award, presented by the mayor of Edwardsville. The women Brown saw running toward the complex the day of the fire were also honored.
He also received a certificate honoring him from Senator Erica Harris.
Brown is the son of Sheila Brown and Tim Brown and is a 1988 graduate at SIU-E studying exercise science as his major and business as his minor.