Two Polk county sheriff’s deputies were given lifesaving awards during a ceremony on Wednesday. The pair were credited with saving the life of a disabled man who became trapped in a burning house.
“I am a very proud sheriff,” said Sheriff Byron Lyons.
Lyons couldn’t say enough about Cpl. Roper Ellison and Dep. Darin Brooks after presenting each man with their award. Last Sunday the pair raced to a fire consuming a home on Don Reily Drag in Livingston. Dash cam video from a patrol car showed smoke filling neighborhood streets as the men arrived. When Ellison and Brooks arrived they knew a disabled man was trapped in his house and dispatch had lost contact. Neither hesitated to race into the flames.
“I started calling out, announcing myself, ‘Sheriff’s Office,’ and then I hear him straight through the fire,” said Ellison.
Ellison found the man, threw him over his shoulder and asked his partner to help lead them out as flames swallowed the house.
“It’s kind of our job, it’s what I signed up to do,” said Brooks.
The homeowner, Ellison and Brooks suffered minor burns. Ellison said he didn’t even feel the heat until his partner, the homeowner and he were on safe ground. Lyons praised both men for leaving other careers to join the sheriff’s office.
“They both had that zeal inside that they wanted to do more, they wanted to serve their community,” said Lyons.