Md. Deputy Fire Marshal May Have Saved A Man’s Life

A Maryland Deputy State Fire Marshal likely saved the life of a man who was badly injured in a chainsaw accident.

Brad Childress in Queen Anne’s County heard landscaping work going on at a neighboring home. Then, he heard the shouts of a man in extreme pain Thursday afternoon.

Childress, who is also a volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician, was about to go off-duty. He got back into his vehicle and responded to the emergency. Childress discovered that the man’s left hand was severed and he had a deep cut to his chest. He used his issued ‘combat application tourniquet’ to stop the bleeding, and provided other emergency first aid care until paramedics from United Communities Volunteer Fire Department arrived and transported the injured man to a hospital.

“Childress’s professional demeanor and dedication to duty is a credit not only to himself but to all of the members of the Department of State Police,” State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci said. “His actions have demonstrated that he is truly an asset to this department and the entire community.”

Deputy State Fire Marshals and Maryland troopers are issued tourniquets and medical aid kits and are trained in the use of these devices.

Childress was named Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year for the upper Eastern Region last year, and returned to work four weeks earlier than anticipated after undergoing open heart surgery last November.