Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister told a room of roughly 20, which included the members of the county Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee meeting, that two of his deputies deserved the lifesaving awards they received after going beyond expectations to save a man’s life.
“They just didn’t take the caller’s word and not do anything because it was an abandoned house,” Meister said. “They went above and beyond what they were expected to do.”
Deputies Aaron King and Matthew Tate responded to a call about a house fire in the early morning hours of Feb. 13 in Spring Green. The person who reported it said the building was abandoned. When they each arrived at the home, they searched it rather than simply securing the scene until other first responders arrived.
The two deputies checked the outside of the home and noticed footprints. Inside, Meister said, King saw a man slumped down on the floor of the living room. They entered the burning building and helped the man outside. The man was later treated for minor injuries related to smoke inhalation.
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Tate said he had left his shift late and was going home around 4 a.m. when he heard the call. Because he was driving by the house, he joined King at the site of the fire.
“Sometimes this job is about place and time,” Tate said. “I showed up and what happened, happened. There may have been a reason I was running late that day.”
King said he was grateful for the help from Tate that allowed him to help the man without additional danger to himself. The task would have been even more difficult if he had been alone, King said.
“Thankfully, he was there to help me out and assist with the actual perimeter search and take it one step further to continue searching,” King said. “And once we located the guy, he helped me pull him out.”
Committee member and retired Lake Delton police chief Tom Dorner credited the two deputies for being thorough.
“Being in the profession for many years before being in this position, I could see where it would have been very easy for any responding officers to just do what the sheriff suggested; it was an abandoned house, ‘We’ll just show up and be on scene until the fire department gets there,’” Dorner said. “Had you guys done that, it would have been a great tragedy. So my hat’s off to your initiative and lifesaving efforts.”
GALLERY: Sauk County emergency response
An aircraft rests in a field at Baraboo-Wisconsin Dells Regional airport after a crash Thursday. Sauk County Sheriff's Office said no one was injured.
