Canton Officers Recognized For Saving Man From Fire

The officers with the Canton Police Department have been commended for saving the life of a man whose home caught fire.

On Aug. 21 during the Canton City Council meeting, officers Jesse Hamilton, Christine Hedmann and Jose Souto were presented with the department’s Life Saving Award.

The award, which is one of the department’s highest honors, recognizes officers for any act or deed where they place themselves in harms way to save the life of another.

Police Chief Robert Merchant addressed the audience and gave an account of what happened on the night of Thursday, July 24.

Just after 9:30 p.m., the three officers responded to a house fire at 2176 Marietta Highway, which was located outside the Canton corporate limits. The on-duty supervisor, Sgt. Rodney Campbell, advised the officers to continue to the call to provide assistance.

When they arrived onto the scene, they were advised by Cherokee County E-911 dispatchers that a man was possibly still inside the home.

The home had visible flames coming from the interior and through the roof. A wheelchair ramp, which matched the description given by dispatchers, was observed by the officers at the home. Dispatchers also said the man was possibly disabled and unable to walk.

The officers, “without concern for their own safety,” forced their way into the home to locate the victim, who was discovered in a rear bedroom sitting on a sofa.

The officers lifted the man into a nearby wheelchair and carried him through the front door to safety.

The victim was treated by Cherokee County EMS for minor injuries.

(Photo: from left to right, Police Chief Robert Merchant, Officers Jesse Hamilton, Christine Hedmann and Jose Souto and Assistant Chief Mark Mitchell. Credit: Canton Police Department)