One of the priorities of Sheriff Eddie Williams, when he assumed his duties earlier this year, was to resupply deputies’ cruisers with what Williams termed necessary first responder items. One of those items was a fire extinguisher which the Sheriff put to good use last Thursday, perhaps saving the lives of two residents of a Braxton County mobile home.
The Sheriff was on his way to work Thursday, April 10 from his residence in Falls Mill at about 7:30 a.m. As Williams passed a mobile home in Napier he noticed that something didn’t look right. “I saw smoke and quickly realized that it wasn’t normal,” explained the Sheriff. His first responder instincts kicked in as he approached the residence and realized the home was on fire. When he entered the residence, he discovered one of the residences trying to throw water on flames visible in the ceiling near a wood burning stove.
Sheriff Williams stopped the man from his futile attempt to extinguish the blaze and helped him remove his wife, who was bedfast, from the burning structure. The Sheriff then used the 5-pound fire extinguisher, which is now standard equipment on all his cruisers to knock down the blaze. Firefighters from Flatwoods and Sutton Volunteer Fire Departments soon arrived to finish fire suppression efforts. Deputy Luke Johnson, who heard the initial radio report by Sheriff Williams, also responded.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported and the structure, while receiving significant damage, was saved. “The fire extinguished saved the day. And it worked beautifully,” concluded Sheriff Eddie Williams.