Firefighters honored in Halethorpe after saving resident from burning building

HALETHORPE, Md. — Two Baltimore County firefighters were honored Friday for saving a resident from a burning building this past summer.

Lt. Johnny Owens and EMT Firefighter Zachary Petry were celebrated by their department and colleagues in a ceremony at the Baltimore County Fire Station 5 in Halethorpe.

On Aug. 19, the two responded to a burning home in Lansdowne, where they pulled a victim from a second-floor bathroom near an engulfed bedroom.

"We got reports that there was somebody possibly trapped, so that amplified things," Owens said. "Showed up, we had fire showing, went inside, found the victim, pulled them out, transferred them to EMS, put the fire out."

The victim was released from Johns Hopkins Bayview on Sept. 10, and his outlook is described as favorable. He was in cardiac arrest when the first responders pulled the victim out, said Chief Joseph Dixon.

"It is all of our responsibility to keep our community safe, and we're so proud that those individuals were able to meet the moment," Dixon said. "They were successful because they were prepared when the opportunity came."

The crew used a thermal imager to locate the victim. Bullard, the company which manufactures the device, is inducting Owens and Petry into its "Save a Life" club.

"It's very humbling," Owens said. "We come to work every day just doing our job, trying to help the citizens the best we can. To us, we're doing the same thing everyone else would do, but it's good to be recognized."

"It's just something that we do for the job, and it's just a normal day," Petry added.

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