A local firefighter has been named a rotary international Paul Harris fellow for his bravery and courage during a natural gas incident back in august.
Josh Dooley with the jasper volunteer fire department was named a Paul Harris fellow in a special presentation last night after being nominated by dr. Ann Patterson and her husband Darren.
Back on August 30th of this year, dr. Patterson of jasper was alone in her home and had called the local non-emergency number after she felt something was wrong but was unable to detect the smell of the natural gas that was leaking inside her home. Dr. Patterson had at the time lost her taste and smell from a recent battle with covid-19.
Dooley was the 1st responder to arrive on the scene and reportedly could smell the odor of natural gas from the Patterson driveway. After removing dr. Patterson from the home, who at this time had become severely disoriented, Dooley alerted responding emergency personnel to keep their distance. Firefighters report that the levels of natural gas in the home were ‘unlivable.’
Dooley’s quick actions not only saved the Patterson home but dr. Patterson’s life.
Jasper mayor dean Vonderhide was in attendance during the surprise presentation last night but he himself was not surprised by Dooley’s actions on that fateful day in august.
The Patterson’s and the jasper volunteer firefighters want to remind the public that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors cannot detect the presence of natural gas.
