By Kel Hutchison
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Columbus Fire & EMS employee is being honored as Piedmont Columbus Regional’s First Friday Hero for helping save seven people after a head-on collision.
Richard Barfield Jr was off-duty in November when he came upon the immediate aftermath of a head-on collision, according to the news release and PCR senior communications specialist JT Fellows. The location of the accident was not given.
| READ NEXT: I’m a firefighter, I can help: Getting involved when off-duty
Barfield stopped his truck and ran toward the wreckage to help save the seven people involved in the accident, according to the news release.
In the first car, Barfield helped a young girl who was attempting to crawl out, according to the news release. The news release says Barfield carried the girl to a safe place away from traffic and returned to rescue a small boy trapped in the car.
The news release says Barfield broke a window to extract the boy and reunited him with his sister before going back, where he found the children’s mother partially out of the passenger side and badly injured. She told Barfield her 4-month-old was still missing, according to the news release.
The news release says Barfield crawled into the car, found the infant, freed him, recognized an injury to the boy’s head and carried him to safety.
Barfield was then informed the father remained trapped, unconscious and not breathing, according to the news release. Barfield cleared debris from the father’s airway so he could begin breathing again, the news release says.
Barfield stabilized the father’s head wound by using trauma kits and, when additional first responders arrived, helped cut through the car to free the pinned driver, according to the news release.
The news release says Barfield continued to triage and provide medical support.
“Because of Barfield Jr’s quick thinking, medical knowledge and selfless courage, many lives were saved,” the news release says.
A ceremony will be held at an unspecified date to commend Barfield for his response, according to the news release.
© 2026 the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.).
Visit www.ledger-enquirer.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
