Gary firefighters rescued sisters from burning home

Gary Firefighters Local 359 retirement party was a family affair

Contributed By: The 411 News

Seeing the 2 girls enter the banquet room at the Diamond Center left some teary eyes at the Gary Firefighters Local 359 Retirement Party in November. On the morning of August 13, the Gary Fire Dept. responded to a house fire in the 2300 block of Virginia and learned 2 children were trapped inside.

Firefighters found Saniya Benson in the basement. They went back in and pulled out her younger sister, Rhain Evens, from the burning home. Tiffany Evens, their mother, spent many days traveling between two hospitals. "Now, we just moved into a new home after being homeless for several months," Tiffany said.

"That day when I got you out of the house assured me I can do this. We saved you but you just might have saved my life. This job doesn't pay much, but you make it worth it. I will never forget it," said Firefighter Tyrone Jackson.

More tears might have been shed that night had retired Gary Fire Dept. Lieutenant Tony Buckrop attended. The union had a surprise for Lt. Buckrop, who retired in 2014 and worked out of Station 2 on 16th and Adams.

Local 359 had invited brothers Brandell and Bruce Burrell, who as youngsters lived across the street from the fire station. "Every day and I mean every day, they visited the station," said Local 359 Vice President Kevin Benford. "Lt. Buckrop took them under his wing. He even bought uniforms for them. I do believe he played a part in their growing up to be the people they are today."

Brandell, the younger brother, is a law student in Atlanta. Bruce is an independent trucker and owns 5 rigs.

The union wanted Lt. Buckrop to see the young men, but he couldn't attend because of chemotherapy treatments. Buckrop was honored with the "Brother's Keeper Award: For selfless and dedicated service to the Gary Fire Department."

Nine Local 359 members, retiring with a cumulative total of 186 years of service were honored. .
Captain Kent Whitt, Sr. 1991-2022, 31 years of service
Engineer Roosevelt Mays, Jr., 1996-2022, 26 years
Engineer Lorenzo Anderson, Sr., 1998-2022, 24 years
Firefighter Edward Jones, 1999-2022, 23 years
Firefighter Aaron Riese, 2001-2022, 21 years
Firefighter James Powell, Sr., 2001-2021, 20 years
Firefighter Larry E. Tillman II, 2005-2022, 17 years
Firefighter Johnny Nelson, 2006-2021, 15 years
Firefighter Ruben G. Martinez, 2012-2021, 9 years

Tillman is Local 359 President. Although he's leaving the department, he'll remain a union member. In closing, Tillman said, "We love what we're doing and will continue to do it. We are the peace in the time of confusion."

The celebration was also a family affair. A graduating class of 20 firefighter candidates from the class of 2022 were among the honorees. Chairman of the Gary Fire Civil Service Commission Donnie Williams and his band 'The Fabulous Kings' provided the entertainment.


Gary firefighters rescued sisters Saniya Benson, left, and Rhain Evens, right, from their burning home in August. Firefighters in the back row, l-r, are Engineer Loui Spann, Lieutenant Derrell Robinson, Firefighters Nichlas Bohm, Eric Yarbrough, and Tyrone Jackson.


Local 359 welcomed the Burrell brothers -- Kevin Benford, l-r, Bruce Burrell, Brandell Burrell, GFD Chief of Training Robert Grady, Larry Tillman and GFD Captain Howard Gearon III. Gearon and Buckrop were classmates and they are best friends. The two men fought every fire side-by-side.

Story Posted:12/02/2022