Thousands of men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day when they go to work here in Hampton Roads. Friday we continue a series dedicated to the first responders who went above and beyond the call of duty this year.
The Valor Awards are presented by the Hampton Roads Chamber. News 3 is honored to partner again this year and showcase incredible feats of bravery.
Click here for complete coverage of the 2018 Valor Awards
Friday's story shows the amazing valor of a Suffolk Fire Fighter who risked his own life to rescue a man trapped on the roof of his burning home.
“On the night of May 28 we received a call for a structure fire. Recognizing they had an individual that was trapped on the porch roof on the second story. He was unable to get down. I actually was working a trade shift for another firefighter. It was not my assigned duty shift," Senior Firefighter Steve Jurnigan said.
Jurnigan said he could hear someone on the porch roof calling for help and he was able to ladder the porch roof and get up and lift him off of the porch roof and down to the ground.
Chief Cedric Scott said Jurnigan is an example of the tremendous dedication and sacrifices that are made in their organization on a daily basis..
“One of the things I remember as I was ascending the ladder was the fire was actually starting to auto expose or roll up underneath of the porch. That’s what we train for and as soon as we realize that, we identified that, we had a victim we needed to get down, we just went into action," Jurnigan said.
Thank you for your service, Senior Firefighter Steve Jurnigan!
News 3 will bring you other stories of incredibly brave men and women working as first responders in Hampton Roads in the coming weeks.
The Hampton Roads Chamber Valor Awards are June 7 at the Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel. For more informationclick here.
