October 13, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SH2005-38)
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
R. Steve Huffman
Public Information Officer
(251) 208-5806/Fax: (251) 208-5813
E-Mail: huffman@cityofmobile.org
FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR
The Insurance Women of Mobile held its annual Banquet at the Commanders House at USA/Brookley on Tuesday, October 11, 2005. The banquet is held annually during Fire Prevention Week and during that ceremony the Firefighter of the Year is selected. This year Firefighter-Driver Christopher L. Williams has been selected as the Firefighter of the Year 2005. Chris was also honored as the Firefighter of the Month in July of this year.
On May 26, 2005 at approximately 11:00 a.m. Firefighter-Driver Christopher L. Williams was off-duty at home taking care of his eleven-month-old daughter and his five-year-old son when he passed by his living room window and caught a glimpse of something across the street at his neighbor's house. He backed up to make sure he was seeing right. The man across the street fell out of his front door and onto his porch. After realizing the man was not moving, Chris told his five-year-old son to stay inside the house and he ran out the door and handed his eleven-month-old daughter to his wife whom had just pulled up in the driveway. He instructed his wife to call 911 as he ran across the street to find his 47-year-old neighbor lying on the porch not breathing and without a pulse. He immediately started CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) without help for an extended period of time prior until volunteer firefighters and an ambulance arrived.
Unfortunately, the man had a massive heart attack and was not revived despite all the efforts to save him. Williams provided mouth-to-mouth breathing and CPR without any medical equipment in an effort to save the life of a neighbor. These actions are highly commendable and contribute greatly to the continued completion of the mission of the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department and the fire-rescue service in general and are worthy of appropriate recognition.
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