By Vicky Taylor
Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania)
MARION, Pa. — An 18-year veteran firefighter was recognized Monday for the part he played last month in saving a young child trapped in the upstairs bedroom of a burning building in Shady Grove.
Chris Henson, owner of Henson’s Auto Body Shop in Marion and a volunteer firefighter at Marion Volunteer Fire Company, was presented with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.'s Firemark Award during a ceremony Monday afternoon at the fire house.
The award is given to firefighters who best represent their communities through courageous valor and selfless spirit, according to Liberty Mutual Branch Manager Barry Eaton.
The award was given to Henson for his part in the Nov. 1 rescue of a young child from a burning building at 2027 Buchanan Trail East.
Henson was at home when he heard a fire call with entrapment on his scanner. He and his son jumped in a car and went to the fire scene, arriving about the same time as Greencastle Police and the child’s father.
The Hensons were the first firefighters on the scene. Chris Henson had a heavy firefighter’s jacket and helmet but no breathing apparatus when he got out of his car that day.
That didn’t keep him from rushing to the rear of the house along with a police officer and the child’s father. He saw the youngster’s mother, covered with soot from the fire, screaming and pointing to an upstairs bedroom.
The child’s father rushed through the back door with Chris Henson at his heels. The police officer remained at the door, ready to help if the two rescuers indicated they needed assistance.
Henson rushed up the stairs behind the father, then waited on the landing at the top of the stairs as the father kicked the bedroom door open, went inside and grabbed his child from a crib.
He handed the child off to Henson, who rushed down the stairs and handed the child off to a waiting emergency medical technician. An ambulance crew had just arrived on the scene.
“It takes a lot of courage to do that,” said Liberty Mutual sales representative Dave Swerdon, who presented the award to Henson.
“I was there to help ... it’s what I have trained to do ... but in my book the father was the real hero,” Henson said. “I was just glad it had such a positive outcome.”
The child was taken to Waynesboro Hospital and then transferred to the Lehigh Burn Center in Allentown for treatment. The child’s father, mother and a sibling were all treated for smoke inhalation.
Henson was taken to Chambersburg Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, according to Marion Fire Chief Randy Haupt.
Haupt did not have the name of the father and child, because his company was not first due on the fire scene. He said the man called the next day, however, to say his child would fully recover from the incident.
In addition to the Firemark Award, Henson will be entered in an annual competition by Mutual Liberty in which one winner of the local awards will be chosen for national recognition.
Copyright 2008 Public Opinion
All Rights Reserved