QUINCY — Transitions employees, residents of Transitions Spruce Street Apartments, Addus Healthcare Associates, and Quincy Fire Department representatives convened at Transitions to honor Robert Garner for his prompt decision-making and valiant response in averting a potentially catastrophic event at Transitions’ Spruce Street Apartments, a residential complex that houses 14 tenants with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD).
When he saw a fire in the shrubbery next to the Transitions Spruce Street apartment complex on June 11 of this year, Robert Garner, a healthcare provider for Addus Healthcare, acted quickly to get firefighters to the units and tenants out of the building and to a safe place.
While driving away from the apartment complex after leaving a resident’s apartment, Garner spotted a fire in the shrubbery next to the building. He swiftly reversed his vehicle, went inside the apartment complex, set off the fire alarm, and started rapping on apartment doors to alert the occupants that there was a fire and they needed to evacuate. He made sure the residents were safe and assisted them in finding a secure area on the property.
It is thought that a lighted cigarette that had been thrown on the ground next to the bushes may have caused the fire. The plants immediately caught fire in June’s hot, dry weather.
Executive Director Mark Schmitz congratulated Garner during the appreciation event for his prompt return to the facility, setting off the fire alarm, and knocking on tenants’ doors to inform them that they needed to vacate their apartments and assemble outside.
“We are extremely thankful that Robert saw the fire and came back to the apartment building to evacuate the residents to a safe location. His prompt and selfless actions saved what could have been a catastrophe,” Schmitz stated in a press release.
On June 9, 2025, Garner received a mug from the agency and the residents of Spruce Street Apartments that read: With our sincere appreciation for your heroic action at Spruce Street Apartments-The Residents of Spruce Street Apartments and Staff of Transitions of Western IL.
