At 2:36 PM on December 5, 2021, Oglethorpe County’s 911 Center received an emergency call for a house that was on fire with the resident still inside the house. The caller also stated that the residence had smoke showing. Oglethorpe County’s Communication Officers quickly began dispatching units from the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, Oglethorpe County EMS, as well as Oglethorpe County Fire Rescue and the City of Lexington Fire Department to respond.
Sergeant Andrew Brooks with the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office was the first to arrive on scene. Knowing that the resident was still inside of the structure, which by this time had been fully filled with thick smoke, Brooks made entry to attempt to find the resident and get him out of harm’s way. From Sgt. Brooks’ body camera footage, you can see that it took several attempts to find the victim and to pull him to safety. Once the victim was brought closer to the front entrance, Sgt. Brooks was assisted by Cpl. Colt Young.
Once the victim was out of the structure, both Sgt. Brooks and Cpl. Young determined that the victim was still breathing. EMS personnel transported the victim to the hospital via ambulance. If it was not for the selfless actions of Sgt. Brooks, the outcome could have been much different.
Oglethorpe County Fire Rescue presented Sgt. Brooks with the Life Savers Award on January 28th, 2022, at their Annual Awards Banquet for his heroic actions and selfless duty to the citizens of Oglethorpe County. Sgt. Brooks has been on several calls with different fire departments where he has gone over and beyond his call of duty and has truly been an asset to Oglethorpe County.
Thank you, Sgt. Brooks, for all that you do to keep Oglethorpe County a safe place to live.