Community remembers Peoria fire hero Butch Gudat

PEORIA (Heart of Illinois ABC) – Firefighters and families gathered Sunday at the Lutheran cemetery in Peoria to remember local hero, Captain Vernon “Butch” Gudat.

Gudat lost his life in 1983 after a wall collapsed on him while fighting a fire on Peoria’s Main St.

“He was a smart firefighter, he was an aggressive firefighter,” Division Chief of Operations Rick Morgan said. “He was not only a great firefighter, he was a family guy.”

Morgan said in this final moments, Gudat saved the life of a fellow firefighter, Mike Morrow.

Members of the department, even those who never met Butch, said his legacy still echoed in the department.

“For those who don’t know, who weren’t around, who weren’t born he is with us every day because we have a plaque of Mr. Gudat throughout all the firehouses,” Morgan said.

Butch was the last Peoria firefighter to die in the line of duty. His children, Michael and Michelle Gudat, led the memorial. They thanked the community for returning to support them after nearly four decades.

“Every year that really brings me to tears to see all the fellow firemen that he worked with in the line of duty,” Michelle Gudat said. “And those who weren’t even born honoring him.”

The family and community of Captain Garret Ramos also came to the service. A Sterling Il. firefighter who died while fighting a fire in Dec 2021.

The Gudat’s said the loss of a firefighter in any city is like a loss from their own. They extended support to the Ramos family and the Sterling Fire Department.

“Having the Ramos family here to join us was sad and joyful at the same time,” Michael Gudat said. “It was also an opportunity for us to kind of come together as two families who have lost someone in the line of duty fighting fires.”

Ramos was survived by a wife and two daughters.

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