At a Lake County Association Chiefs of Police meeting Nov. 4, Patrolman Timothy Novak of the Fairport Harbor Police Department received the organization’s highest award — the Medal of Honor — “for an outstanding act of heroism in the line of duty, at imminent personal hazard of life with full knowledge of the risk involved,” according to Willowick Police Chief Michael Lazor, who presented the award.According to a letter of recommendation from Fairport Harbor Police Chief Mark Kish, Novak was the first to arrive on the scene of an apartment fire on Oct. 14. When he discovered one occupant was still inside, Novak “forced open the locked door and entered the apartment. The 10-year veteran found the resident unconscious just inside the entry door and removed him from the apartment.”The resident suffered burn wounds over 30 percent of his body. While at the emergency room, Kish was told the resident would not have survived the fire had he been in the apartment five minutes longer.“When you get dispatched, you don’t have a choice of what type of situation you are going into,” said Novak, who suffered smoke inhalation. “It was just all in the job. I was fortunate I wasn’t injured in any way. A broken window may have saved me from being killed by a backdraft.”