Jasper (Indiana) Police officers Grant A. Goffinet, left, and Brent D. Duncan received the Carnegie Medal for saving a 33-year-old man from an overturned,
burning sport utility vehicle in a ceremony at the police department on Oct. 15, 2020.
Goffinet and Duncan arrived at the scene of a Sept. 16, 2018, accident where the front passenger remained in his seat. Goffinet and Duncan emptied fire extinguishers at flames in the car’s engine compartment, but the fire continued to burn.
Goffinet entered the SUV through the broken-out, rear hatch window and called to the passenger, who moved toward him. Goffinet grasped his upper body and pulled him. By then, Duncan had joined Goffinet at the vehicle’s rear and gained a hold on the man’s arm. Together, they removed the man, and a bystander helped the officers drag him away from the vehicle before spreading flames consumed it.
The man was treated at a hospital, but he was not burned.
“Although police officers everywhere put themselves in dangerous situations every day, never is it listed in our job description that it’s the responsibility for an officer to enter a burning vehicle save the life a complete stranger,” Police Chief Nathan Schmitt told the Hero Fund in support of their efforts having gone above and beyond their expected duties.
Photo courtesy of Jasper Police Department.