WR Firefighter awarded Life Saving Valor Award

Warner Robins Fire Department’s Firefighter Kadeem Ambrose was awarded the Life Saving Valor Award, Wednesday afternoon for the selfless actions he took on August 5, 2020.

Back in August, Ambrose was off duty from the fire department and was getting ready to pick up some supplies for his part-time job when he noticed a gentleman in distress.

“I just got out of my vehicle when I saw a man two to three cars down from me when he made a grunt sound and hit the ground hard,” Ambrose said. “I immediately ran over to check him out and there was no response. That’s when I realized that something wasn’t right. So I went back to my training, calmed myself down and went step by step in performing CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation).”

Ambrose said while performing CPR, another gentleman, who was a first responder, came over as well. But after a few minutes of performing CPR, Ambrose said the man’s eyes began to open and he was starting to breath. Ambrose and the other first responder both then hooked the man in distress to an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), just in case, and the man in distress fully came to.

“It was a really great feeling when he began breathing,” Ambrose said. “A lot of times we don’t see a good result from CPR, but this was a great outcome, and I am so glad he was safe. This is what we train for.”

Ambrose was born in the Virgin Islands, and left for the United States when he was 14. He graduated high school in Atlanta, and then went on to earn a degree at Fort Valley State University. Not long after graduating from college, he was hired on to the Warner Robins Fire Department and has been with the department now for five years.

“Growing up, I always loved the profession as a kid and always thought it was a cool job,” Ambrose said. “And as time went on I wanted to help people and make a difference in at least one person’s life. When this opportunity came open for the Warner Robins Fire Department, I pounced on it, and now it’s a career of mine. I truly enjoy it. I am very honored and grateful to receive this award, but really, this is my job; this is what I trained for.”

Fire Chief Ross Moulton said he remembered that day the call came out, but within minutes, it was cleared.

“At first I thought, Wow! Really? The call is cleared that fast? But once I got more information, I was just amazed and excited,” Moulton said. “Kadeem’s actions make us so proud. He took immediate action without hesitation and used his training. While Kadeem and the rest of the department will say this is their job, they do it everyday; we felt it was important to recognize him.”

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