Louisville (KY) Maj. Mark Ohlmann caught a woman after she jumped from the second floor of a burning building said he was just doing what he was trained to do. But Fire Chief Greg Frederick said it’s important to publicly recognize extraordinary efforts by firefighters, reports The Courier-Journal.
Ohlmann was among 11 firefighters recognized Friday night for exceptional deeds in 2012.
The 26th annual Louisville Division of Fire Awards and Retirement Banquet also celebrated 21 department members who retired last year.
Ohlmann modestly recalled the details of the Feb. 29, rescue.
There was heavy smoke and fire from the second floor of the home when firefighters arrived, he said. They also saw a woman trying to escape from the second floor.
Ohlmann said he and two of his crew members raised a ladder to the window. As they were putting the ladder in place “she reached for the ladder before it hit, and missed the ladder and actually come falling out of the window.”
Standing below, Ohlmann had been anticipating that reach. “When she reached and I saw her slip and fall, I just instinctively got underneath her and broke her fall,” he said.
Read more of the story here http://cjky.it/ZeFCdm
