SafeMart Holiday Hero Profile #6

SafeMart Holiday Hero Profile #6 goes out to a team of heroes from Burleson, TX.  Remember to nominate a Hero during the final days of SafeMart’s Holiday Heroes Contest!

Valor in Burleson, TX

On behalf of every law enforcement officer, firefighter, and EMT/Paramedic in the United States the American First Responder Institute extends congratulations to Firefighter Bill Buchanan, Paramedic Firefighter Dallas Fowler &  Engineer Michael Mosleyof the Burelston Fire Department.

On August 3, 2011, the Burleson Fire Department received a call to rescue a man.  It wasn’t going to be an easy rescue.  Mike Howard, 25, a contractor for Tower Lighting of Texas, climbed up the tower on County Road 919 near Burleson at about 9 a.m. with three other workers and was supposed to come down at about 5 p.m but Mike was sick and couldn’t get down.  In fact, he was going in and out of consciousness.   His co-workers made the 911 call at 7:45 PM.

The rescue was difficult because Mike is a big man.  He is 6’5” tall, and he was on a platform that was 6’x3’.  And the platform was connected to a cell phone tower, but there was a 6 foot gap between the tower and the platform.

Did I mention that Mike was on a cell phone tower… 750 feet in the air… that’s like being on top of a 70 story building… that’s twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, including the pedestal and base!

While the rescuers were coming up with a plan to rescue him, Mike took of his safety gear because it was making him feel claustrophobic.   By the time the Burleson paramedic-firefighters finished their climb to the top of the tower… it was dark.

Three First Responders did an exceptional job bringing Mike Howard to safety.  The High-Angle Rescue Team consisted of Firefighter Bill Buchanan, Paramedic Firefighter Dallas Fowler &  Engineer Michael Mosley.

 

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