Local Firefighter Receives Medal for Bravery

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Created on Saturday, 26 March 2022 12:57

Written by Alek Wolfe

ST. JOHNSBURY - Everyday, first responders are saving lives. While some of what they do is noticed by the community, it's the little details that are missed.

Earlier this week, the St. Johnsbury Fire Department awarded the metal of bravery to Brenden Greaves.  For Greaves who has been fighting fires for almost 14 years, it was unexpected. According to Chief Bradly Reeds, the award is voted on by colleagues from the department and it's the first one in history.

"I think one of the things that adds to the presentation of the metal is the fact that his fellow fire fighters nominated him for this," Reeds said.

Although fires are low here in the Kingdom, Greaves knows the importance of his job and what it means to the public. Chief Reeds describes a intense encounter back in 2013 where the crew had to jump out of a 3 story building to save themselves. Greaves found himself in a similar situation earlier this fall while on call.

"We just had a fire that was spreading really fast. The fire kind of took off a lot faster then any fire that I'd ever seen before." Reeds added, "Brenden positioned himself in an area that's extremely dangerous anyway. The fire literally came up behind him and started incinerating the stairwell the the was on. In order for him to get out of the building, he literally had to dive down the stairs," Reeds said.