North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey will honor four Hoke County firefighters, a Columbus County deputy sheriff and a fire department in Scotland County for life-saving actions on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
SAVE Awards go to individuals or organizations who go above and beyond the call of duty to save lives.
Four firefighters from the Puppy Creek Volunteer Fire Department in Hoke County – Lt. Billy Fuchs, Will Overton, Bryan Dubois and Marshall Jackson – are credited with saving the life of a 14-month-old child when they responded to an emergency call on Sept. 6. When the firefighters arrived on the scene, the mother was running toward the firefighters with the child in her arms. After determining that the child had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, they performed CPR until the child regained a pulse and started breathing. The child was taken to the hospital and released later in the day.
On. Sept. 24, Laurinburg firefighters responding to a house fire saw smoke coming from the eves and roof of the house and heard smoke alarms beeping. Previously, Laurinburg firefighters had worked with the Red Cross to install smoke alarms at the house. The homeowner credits the smoke alarm installation by the Laurinburg Fire Department with saving the occupants’ lives.
Around 9 a.m. Sept. 26, Columbus County Deputy Drew Zehnder responded to a 911 call of a house being on fire. A neighbor told Deputy Zehnder that a man was inside the house, that was full of smoke. Deputy Zehnder entered the home and pulled the man, who was unconscious on the couch, outside. Deputy Zehnder is credited with saving that man’s life.
Here is Commissioner Causey’s public schedule for the day:
11:00 a.m. – Puppy Creek Volunteer Fire Department 445 Pittman Grove Church Road, Raeford, N.C. 28376 1:30 p.m. – Laurinburg Fire Department 1547 Hickory St., Laurinburg, N.C. 28352 2:50 p.m. – Columbus County Sheriff’s Office 805 Washington St., Whiteville, N.C. 28472