City of Rochester
News Release
(Thursday, June 3, 2021) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren has recognized Elene Peavy, a city resident who rescued her neighbor from a burning apartment in January, with a Mayoral Proclamation.
”Elene Peavy is an unsung hero, at age 68 she is a person who quietly lives her life, but steps up to help others whenever she sees a need—even when stepping up may mean putting herself at risk,” Mayor Warren’s Proclamation states. “The City of Rochester is proud of Elene Peavy for her selfless acts of courage.”
In the early morning hours of Jan. 30 Ms. Peavy heard a tapping sound from her neighbor’s apartment on the seventh floor of her building on Franklin Street. Using a walker because of a recent knee replacement, Ms. Peavy moved quickly to her neighbor’s door, where she could hear him plead for someone to open it.
Ms. Peavy was also recovering from shoulder surgery and did not have the strength to force the door open, but she remained in place and continued to encourage and reassure her neighbor that he could open the door from the inside. Once the door opened, black poured into the hallway and the neighbor was covered in soot. She moved him to safety until the Rochester Fire Department arrived to extinguish the fire. The RFD credited Ms. Peavy’s actions for possibly saving the life of her neighbor.
The January rescue was just the latest act of heroism by Ms. Peavy. She once rescued children from a burning home, and has also transported shooting victims to an area hospital in her vehicle.
Interim Fire Chief Felipe Hernandez presented Ms. Peavy with the Mayoral Proclamation earlier today.
She told him: “When people are in need, Help, don’t run away. Rochester needs more care in it, everyone should help each other.”
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News Media: For more information, contact Communications Director Justin Roj Justin.Roj@cityofrochester.gov; or RFD Public Information Officer Lt. Jeffrey Simpson at Jeffrey.Simpson@cityofrochester.gov.