Remington Austin of Avery County was presented the Valor Award by the Avery County Firefighters Association for saving a life on Nov. 4, 2020. Austin is a firefighter with the Green Valley Fire Department. He was travelling along Highway 19E in Plumtree, and noticed a crowd of about 15 people standing by the road looking off the embankment. He saw several power lines down, smoke and a vehicle. He then saw a man stuck in a vehicle that had gone off the road, down an embankment into a swampy area. As Austin went down to the vehicle, it caught fire. He went under a power line hanging over the front of the vehicle and pulled the man out and carried him to safety as the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames.
The Medal of Valor is awarded to a firefighter The Valor Award, or the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, was created by an act of Congress in 2001 to recognize extraordinary acts of heroism and bravery by the nation’s public safety officers. It was presented to Remington Austin on January 7th for performance above and beyond the call of duty at extreme personal risk and having been instrumental in rescuing and saving another person’s life. Austin has been a firefighter for 13 years.
