Five Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) workers were honored Thursday, April 11, by the
Northwest Public Power Association with a Safety Heroism Award for pulling a disabled man from a burning RV in Mossyrock earlier this year.
They were recognized during the association’s 2024 Engineering & Operations Conference in Tacoma.
The Lewis County PUD crew — composed of Brad Peters, Bob Hadley, Joel Chandler, Travis Merriman and Hunter Blair— received the award for their efforts in saving a man on Jan. 22.
“They were working in the Mossyrock area when they noticed the acrid smell of something burning and saw smoke coming out of a nearby recreational vehicle,” the association stated in a news release. “After quickly assessing the situation, they jumped into action. Hadley, unable to access the RV due to the amount of smoke inside, pounded on the side to find out if anyone was inside. During this time, other crew members gathered fire extinguishers and tried to squelch the fire. At last, Hadley heard a response from someone inside who was unable to move on his own. Using his previous experience as a volunteer firefighter, Hadley gained access to the RV through an emergency window and he and Peters pulled the disabled man to safety. Without the crew’s efforts, the man would have been unable to exit the smoke-filled RV.”
The Lewis County crew was one of three to receive the Safety Heroism Award.
Energy Northwest’s John Hagfeldt, Steve Short and Danee Pisarchuk received the award for their efforts in saving the life of a coworker during a medical emergency on April 26, 2023. The Bonneville Power Administration/TFH Construction crew — composed of Travis Petty, Steve Parrish, Shawn Dishman, Tim Pitts, Craig Langan, Scott Burns, Rob Ebeling and Leander Pruitt — received the award for their response to an onsite medical emergency Nov. 20, 2023.
The Northwest Public Power Association’s Safety Heroism Award “recognizes individuals and groups who displayed an act of unselfish and voluntary assistance in a situation where life, significant injury or significant property loss would have been incurred were it not for the efforts of the individual or team,” according to the news release.
