Mountain Home Police Sergeant Awarded Medal of Valor

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KLIX) – A Mountain Home police officer was honored Monday for saving the life of an elderly woman caught in a house fire last September.

Sgt. Russell Griggs was awarded the Medal of Valor during the Mountain Home City Council meeting. Officer Brian Thomas, who helped Griggs rescue the woman from the burning house, was awarded the medal at an earlier ceremony.

“In this line of work, courageous acts can be part of one's daily duties,” Chief Nick Schilz said. “These officers set themselves apart through deeds of incredible self-sacrifice and were therefore recognized for their distinguished service.”

The Medal of Valor recognizes acts of personal valor or heroism, regardless of personal safety, which results in the saving of a life under extreme conditions or extraordinary circumstances.

Griggs and Thomas entered a home on Sept. 12, 2016 in whose basement was engulfed in flames. In a back bedroom lay an elderly woman asleep in her bed. Griggs and Thomas, after locating the woman and placing her in a wheelchair, brought her safely out of the smoke-filled house.

The woman was treated for smoke inhalation, but refused further medical treatment at the time, the police department said after the incident. Both officers were taken to St. Luke’s Elmore Medical Center  where they also were treated for smoke inhalation before being released.

“If it were not for the actions of Sgt. Griggs and Officer Thomas, there is a high chance that this woman would not have survived,” Mountain Home Fire Department Chief Mark Moore said in a press statement in September. “These officers put the safety of another person ahead of their own, and that bravery and professionalism should be recognized.”