Ala. paramedic, EMT honored for act of kindness

By Brad Harper
The Montgomery Advertiser

CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. — The police had cleared the scene. One family member was dead and another was being airlifted to a trauma center.

That left an elderly couple alone in their Chilton County house on that cold October night, steps away from the bloody aftermath of what emergency crews called "a violent event." But the husband was bedridden and the couple had no means or ability to leave.

The next morning, the couple called CARE Ambulance to thank them for sending workers to spend the night cleaning the house. There was just one problem. The company didn't send their workers to do that.

Paramedic Michelle Glass and EMT Mitchell Keener had gone out on their own to check on the couple late that night in 2015 and found what looked like a scene from a horror movie. So they spent their own money to buy cleaning supplies and rent a carpet cleaner, then spent the night scrubbing the house until all traces of the violence were gone.

When the company found out, Glass and Keener refused any sort of repayment.

"It was just the right thing to do," Keener said. "That's the way I was raised. I'm pretty sure that's the way she was raised from day one.

"Neither one of us wanted recognition for what we did."

On Wednesday, they got it anyway.

CARE parent company Falck sent a representative to Montgomery from their headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, to present Glass and Keener with the company's global Medal of Honor, its highest award for going above and beyond to serve the community.

The two partners had medals pinned to them as their families looked on.

"Their selfless act of kindness to a family in the midst of tragedy exemplifies the true meaning of duty," said an emotional Kevin Harralson, general manager of CARE. "They did not do it for praise, or thanks. They saw a need, fixed it, and then returned to their normal duties of serving the citizens of Chilton County, Alabama."

Glass and Keener were thankful but seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. They said they never even discussed whether to go to the couple's house that night, they just went.

"It just happened," Glass shrugged.

Copyright 2016 the Montgomery Advertiser

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