Erath County sheriff’s deputy receives lifesaving medal for quick action that saved 2 in house fire.
The Erath County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday honored sergeant Chris Hill with a lifesaving medal for saving the lives of two people trapped inside a house fire in March.
Sheriff Matt Coates said Hill was on patrol on March 23 when he noticed a fire. He called dispatch to see if there was a controlled burn in the area, and when he was told there was not, he went to investigate.
That’s when Hill saw that a home was on fire and began checking for people inside.
Hill discovered an elderly couple trapped inside a bedroom, then climbed through a window to help them escape.
“You never really know what you’re capable of until a situation like that arises,” Sheriff Matt Coates told Beneath the Surface News. “Sgt. Hill performed in a way I hope everyone would in that type of emergency.”
The lifesaving medal is the third of its kind that Sheriff Coates has given since taking office.
The first two were awarded to deputies who responded to the shooting of Erath County auditor Kent Reeves.
