In the early morning hours of June 2nd, 2019 the Bellevue Fire Department received a call for help on Harlan Lewis and Highway 34 area. Bellevue Engine 1 and Battalion 1 were dispatched to this call. Upon arrival crews found that a motorist had driven their vehicle into the flood waters that covered Highway 34 and was trapped in the car with her pet. The vehicle was approximately 300 yards from dry land. Fire crews, with the assistance of a levee repair person utilized a front end loader to rescue the citizen.
Firefighters Dustin Maw and Mark Armstrong donned their water rescue suits and climbed into the bucket of the front-end loader and tied off for their safety. Through the darkness, the levee repair person drove the front-end loader with Firefighters Maw and Armstrong in the bucket to the stranded citizen. Water had already reached the top of the vehicle windows.
Firefighters Maw and Armstrong made contact with the individual and immediately initiated rescue operations. Since water had already reached the windows on the vehicle, the door was unable to be opened, the victim and her pet were safely extracted through the window of the vehicle and brought to safety. Thanks to the skills and bravery of Firefighter Maw and Firefighter Armstrong, disaster was avoided in this situation and Mayor Rusty Hike was proud to present both firefighters with the Mayor’s Spotlight Award in recognition of their actions!
It has been a goal of Mayor Hike to recognize exceptional employee accomplishments. The Mayor's Spotlight Award is awarded to employees who go the extra mile in terms of performance, providing a service or have reached a professional milestone. These accomplishments can be either work or community service related. Nominations from within the City and throughout the community will be accepted. Please email Mayor Hike at rusty.hike@bellevue.net if you have a recommendation for the next award.
The City of Bellevue would also like to thank our friends at Chick-Fil-A Bellevue and DJ’s Dugout for supporting the Mayor’s Spotlight Awards by providing food and gift certificates in further recognition of these exemplary efforts!