MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Four deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were awarded the Distinguished Service Award Friday after the group helped save a man from an October house fire.
According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Deputies Logan Wilson, Hugo Garcia, Monica Ruiz, and Lt. Sean Felton were dispatched to a duplex on Oct. 19. When they arrived, body camera footage showed heavy smoke pouring out of the home.
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In the video, Wilson can be seen calling for the homeowner before he kicked in the front door. Deputies say the smoke filling the home made it difficult to see anyone inside.
Felton then approached the home and saw the lower half of a man lying on the floor roughly 10 feet inside the home. When he tried to enter, the heavy smoke forced him to back out.
Garcia entered the home and pulled the man out. Deputies Wilson, Garcia, and Ruiz then pulled the man away from the residence and stayed with him until EMS arrived.
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For their combined efforts, Lieutenant Felton, Deputy Garcia, Deputy Ruiz and Deputy Wilson have been named the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies of the Year for 2021.
Sheriff Wells of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office presented the group with the award Friday morning at MCSO’s Annual Awards Banquet.