Deputy State Fire Marshal Uses Tourniquet To Save Man's Life After Tree-Cutting Mishap
STEVENSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A Deputy State Fire Marshal is credited with saving a man's life with his agency issued tourniquet and rendering aid after hearing his calls for help in Queen Anne's County.
Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Brad Childress heard the sounds of a chainsaw being used by a landscaping company to remove a tree in a nearby neighbors yard when he arrived home.
Childress was preparing to go off-duty just before 3:00 p.m. when the sound of the chainsaw turned to a man screaming for help.
Deputy Childress, who is also a volunteer firefighter and EMT, immediately recognized the distressing call and returned to his vehicle and responded to the 400 block of Elm Street in Stevensville.
When Childress exited his vehicle, he found a 36-year-old man in the backyard with a severed left hand and a deep laceration to his chest.
A neighbor called 911, and Childress notified Queen Anne's County Emergency Services via his portable radio while rendering aid.
Deputy Childress used his agency issued Combat Application Tourniquet and applied pressure to the man's arm, stopping the profuse bleed. He also treated the man's chest wound until paramedics arrived.
Paramedics credited Childress for providing life-saving measures and mitigating the man's injuries.
Childress was selected as the Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year for the Upper Eastern Regional Office last year.