A fire captain in Indianapolis will be honored for saving a woman from a house on fire

Indianapolis, Indiana – While he wasn’t on duty, an Indianapolis Fire Department captain saved a woman from her burning home at the NHRA U.S. Nationals this weekend.

The award will be given to IFD Captain Mark Baranko, who has been with the department for 15 years, on Saturday by Fire Department Coffee (FDC).

Baranko was coming home from the grocery store in Greenwood around 8:30 a.m. on March 12 when he saw police action near a home in the Carefree subdivision. He then stopped to help when he saw flames coming from the second floor of a two-story house.

The landlord, who was outside, told Baranko that his wife was still inside, in a bedroom upstairs in the back. He didn’t care about his own safety, so Baranko ran into the house through thick smoke.

IFD says, “Heavy, toxic black smoke covered the whole upstairs, leaving only 6 inches of visibility and air that was barely breathable at floor level.” Mark had to get down on the floor to do his search. In less than a minute, he found the woman unconscious in the hallway of a back bedroom. Mark took her by the hand and led her out the front door.

First responders took care of the woman until she could be taken to a hospital once they were outside and safe.

The fire department says the woman is now fully recovered after being saved.

IFD Chief Ernest Malone praised Baranko’s brave actions after the fire.

“It’s not often that you have to decide whether to risk your own life to save someone else’s.

Today, Captain Baranko gladly made that decision.” Mark is a true professional who does a great job as an officer, a leader, and a teacher. We’re happy to have him as a firefighter in our family.

Baranko has been given the Indiana State Fire Marshal Medal of Valor, an award from the DAV Department of Indiana, and a heroism award from the Indiana Sons of the American Revolution since the raid.