County Executive Isiah Leggett and Fire Chief Richard Bowers Recognize "Everyday Heroes" for Risking Their Lives to Save Others

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, County Council President Nancy Floreen and Fire Chief Richard Bowers yesterday paid tribute to a group of “everyday heroes” – ordinary people who took extraordinary actions to save lives and help others. In a ceremony in Rockville, six individuals were recognized for their role in four different incidents.

“I am always proud to have the opportunity to recognize our community heroes, and this is no exception,” said Leggett. “The individuals that we are honoring today have all demonstrated courage and quick thinking, and a willingness to risk their own lives to help others. These individuals have made our community a safer place in which to live, and for that we are grateful.”

County Council President Nancy Floreen said, “I’m sure that none of people recognized today woke up in the morning saying ‘I’m going to be a hero,’ but when they were confronted with a life or death situation, they jumped in to do what they could and indeed became heroes. We are truly grateful to them for that. Today’s honorees serve as inspiration to us all. ”

Councilmember Phil Andrews, chair of the Public Safety Committee said, “These heroes inspire us by their actions and remind us that helping people in peril is a responsibility of us all."

Leggett, Floreen and Bowers recognized the following individuals for their heroic actions in the following incidents:

(1) Security guard Nicholas Ayers is hailed as a hero for banging on doors and alerting and evacuating 49 residents to safety during a four-alarm fire at the Manor Apartments on Georgia Avenue in Aspen Hill on the evening of December 29, 2009. More than a dozen families were displaced as a result of the fire, and Nicholas Ayers is credited with helping to save their lives.

(2) Pool operator Tiffany Miles was restocking chemicals at a Burtonsville swimming pool early on Sunday, June 13, 2010 when she noticed a child at the bottom of the pool, which was closed at the time. She immediately pulled the three-year-old child out of the pool, asked a colleague to call 911 and began to administer CPR. The child was transported to Holy Cross Hospital and survived the incident due to Miles’ quick actions.

(3) Dean Haught and Kyle Murphy started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a construction worker who was suffering a heart attack at the MedImmune construction site in Gaithersburg on August 27, 2010. Using his paramedic training, Steve Cumpston used an on-site Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and he along with Dean Haught and Kyle Murphy are credited with saving the heart attack victim’s life. The victim has recently returned to work.

(4) FedEx driver Earl Spence was making a delivery in Laytonsville on July 7, 2010 when he noticed a van parked in an embankment and idling on the hot summer day. Deciding to investigate, he discovered three senior citizens inside the locked vehicle. Two were unconscious and unresponsive, and the driver was incoherent and losing consciousness. Mr. Spence immediately called 911 and calmly maintained dialog with the increasingly disoriented driver in an attempt to keep the driver awake. Mr. Spence is credited with saving the lives of the three seniors who have since recovered, but likely would have succumbed to the gasoline fumes that were leaking from a gas can inside their vehicle.