VIDEO: It’s been 41 years since Peoria firefighter Vernon “Butch” Gudat died in the line of duty, but Friday, the department and his family members celebrated his legacy.
John Smith worked for the Peoria Fire Department for 29 years. After he retired, he picked up woodworking.
Smith’s hobby of building tables started when Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger asked Smith to build a table for the new firehouse, Station 4.
Smith has finished several tables since then, the most recent being a dinner table for Fire Station 10 in honor of Gudat. “I knew right away that the table I built for Station 10 was going to incorporate some kind of memorial for Capt. Gudat,” Smith said.
Station 10 is where Gudat was working when he responded to a fire in downtown Peoria on January 23, 1983. He died that morning in the line of duty.