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Rookie patrolman Jeremy Zuber didn't have self-contained breathing apparatus, a helmet, or flame retardant clothes, just his training --- and his wits.

As the first person to respond to a fire call at Building 520 of the Hi View Gardens apartments on Coursin Street, Zuber sized up the situation and went to work.

It was just about 6:30 a.m. on a Friday morning in July. More than 50 people were asleep inside --- unaware of the fire raging on the third floor.

Zuber forced his way into 520 Coursin and began banging on the first-floor doors to wake up the tenants and get them to safety. Then he tried to make his way upstairs, but thick smoke forced him to retreat.

. . .

City fire crews were now arriving. Fire Captain Ed Drye Sr. brought a ladder and helped Zuber lead a woman and her son, trapped on the second floor, to safety. They were in the clear when the roof collapsed above their apartment.

In another part of the building, police Sgt. Connor Craig and Patrolman James Taylor were pushing their way through the smoke to kick in doors and lead residents to safety.

By now, more firefighters and suburban volunteers were rolling onto the scene. Driver Tom Perciavalle arrived and began rescuing residents trapped upstairs in 520; another driver, Eugene Esken, led city and volunteer crews inside to keep the fire from spreading to the neighboring buildings.

. . .

Trying to buy time so that all of the residents could get to safety, city Firefighter Kevin Kovach pulled a hose into 520 Coursin in an attempt to protect the rescuers. But the blaze was moving too fast; flames were devouring the second- and third-floor hallways, and the choking smoke had reduced visibility to zero.

At the opposite end of the hallway, Craig heard Kovach calling for help. Armed with just his flashlight, Craig directed Kovach to an exit.

Then men then pulled Kovach's firehose out of the building. Burned through in places, it was in tatters.

. . .

Fire Capt. James Shields was supposed to be off duty, but was called in for assistance. He arrived and was met by a woman who frantically told him that her son was trapped inside, and talking to him on her cell phone.

Shields took the phone and began talking to the panicked resident. He pulled enough information out of him to figure out where he was in the building, talked him out of jumping from a window, and directed him to an outside window, where firefighters pulled him to safety.

. . .

These are just a few of the stories recounted Wednesday night, when council and Mayor James Brewster honored six city firefighters and three police officers for bravery in the July 11 conflagration.

In all, 51 people got out of the apartment safely, including 15 people rescued by police and firefighters. Nine people, including two firefighters, suffered minor injuries.

An overflow crowd of family members and friends stood in the aisle of council chambers and lined the second-floor hallway of the old municipal building to see the ceremony.

. . .

Presented with commendations were Drye, Esken, Perciavalle, Kovach, Shields and part-time Firefighter Ed Drye Jr.

Receiving the McKeesport Police Medal of Valor were Craig, Taylor and Zuber, who joined the department as a cadet last year after paying his own way through the Allegheny County Police Academy.

"This was a chaotic event, and nobody had to give anyone any directions," Brewster said. "People wonder, 'Why do you go through all of this training? Why do you negotiate training into the contracts?'

"This is why," he said. "There's an awful lot that we take for granted that goes into the job ... it's routine work for these men and women, but it's not routine for the rest of us."

Brewster and city Police Chief Joe Pero said only a handful --- probably only two or three --- medals of valor have been presented in the last 20 years.

. . .

Fire Chief Kevin Lust thanked the seven suburban fire departments that responded, as well as McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service.

After seeing the dramatic pictures of the blaze on the Internet and TV, firefighters from around the country called or emailed the department their congratulations, he said.

"I was very proud of these guys and what they did," Lust said. "I can't thank everybody enough --- our mutual aid companies, the police, the ambulance --- they just kept saying, 'Well, we just did our job.'

"It's unbelievable," he said. "They protected everyone's lives up there, and Hi View Gardens only lost three apartments. I'm proud of them, and I think the community should be, too."

. . .

Also honored with commendations were city fire Capt. Gerald Tedesco and Firefighter Jeffery Tomovcsik, who rescued a resident of a second-floor apartment above the Cafe Fifth Ave. restaurant in the East End, which burned on Aug. 2.

That blaze was reported by a city police sergeant on his way home after work, who spotted the flames and called for help.

While other residents were able to escape the fire on their own, one man was trapped by smoke and flames; Tomovcsik and Tedesco put a ladder to the window and brought him down safely.

City officials said MARS personnel were unable to attend Wednesday's meeting; they will receive commendations for their efforts in the July 11 fire at a future council meeting.