Modesto to celebrate two firefighters

The city will honor two Modesto firefighters who rescued a mother and her adult daughter trapped inside a burning apartment last month.

Mayor Garrad Marsh and council members are expected to give firefighters Jesse Miguel and Jason Wyatt certificates of commendation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The two women had taken refuge in the bathroom of their second-story apartment as the fire spread. They closed the bathroom door, but Fire Chief Sean Slamon said the door was beginning to disintegrate because of the fire.

Firefighters placed a ladder against the side of the apartment building by the women’s bathroom window. Miguel and Wyatt used the ladder to rescue the women.

The fire started about 5:36 a.m. Feb. 14 at the two-story complex on Campus Way near Modesto Junior College’s east campus. Slamon said the fire started on the ground floor, and its cause is suspicious.

The blaze displaced about 20 residents and destroyed 10 of the building’s 15 apartments. Several people jumped from the second floor before firefighters arrived. Two people were hospitalized for leg injuries.

After the meeting, council members will go to room B300 for an economic and financial sustainability workshop.

The council meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Modesto to celebrate two firefighters."