Brownwood News – One of the last duties of Brownwood Fire Chief, Eddy Wood, on his last day of service to the department Wednesday, July 17, was to present Life Saving Awards to seven firemen for their efforts in saving a woman’s life at 10 mile crossing on May 12th.

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“911 received a call at 8:00 am (May 12, 2019) stating that a truck had been swept away with one occupant still inside and that another occupant was still in the water.  Engine 92, manned by Lieutenant Kyle Whitley, Driver Phillipe Foix and firefighter Jeffery Davis, was the first crew to arrive on scene followed by Lieutenant Jody Horton in Battalion 9.  While Engine 92 was enroute, they were stopped by a man standing in the roadway stating he was one of the occupants involved in the incident.  He advised that there was a woman that was still in the water holding on the side of the embankment.  Fire Crews quickly gathered their equipment and followed the man to the river.  The tag line was put in place manned by Lt. Horton and FF Davis while Foix climbed down the embankment where he found the female victim in the water near a ledge.  She was exhausted and cold and had to be rescued from the rushing waters.  The victim stated she had been in the water since 1:30 am.  While the victim was being removed from the water, Engine 9, manned by driver John Cadenhead, firefighters Stephen Adkins and Cody Cross, arrived on the scene.  They assisted in the search for the missing vehicle for over 4 hours.”

Shown left to right: Chief Wood, Jeffery Davis, John Cadenhead, Cody Cross, Jody Horton and Kyle Whitley. Not present were firefighters Phillipe Foix and Stephen Adkins.

The awards were given out at Central Fire Station at 9:00 am Wednesday. Helping make the presentation was Interim Fire Chief, Buddy Preston, and Assistant Fire Chief, Darrell Johnston.

Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes said Tuesday that Fire Marshal, Buddy Preston, will wear two hats for a few weeks, also serving as Interim Fire Chief.