Today, we honored two Franklin heroes who helped to save two women from a fire.
With the help of the Franklin Police Department we went into their headquarters for a surprise.
Magdeline Jenkins came with thank you cards for Officer Quentin Livingston and Sgt. Todd Lyons.
As soon as they walked into the conference room where we were waiting, Jenkins greeted them with hugs and the two officers soon realized why they had been summoned by their bosses.
Last month, Lyons and Livingston pulled her from her burning home. Jenkins is forever grateful.
"I want to thank you so much and God was with you all. You don't find too many good people like that in this world. I really thank them from the bottom of my heart and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here and I thank the Lord up above."
Because of their heroic actions, we presented them with a NewsChannel 3 People Taking Action Award, along with a $100 Visa gift card for each officer from our community sponsor Southern Bank.
It was a neighbor, Eleanor Ashburn who nominated the two officers. "They were on other business in my community but when they heard fire, smoke they just jumped into life-saving mode."
The heavy smoke: That's what the officers remember when we went back to Jenkins' home on Bracy Street and I asked about last month's fire.
Livingston says the smoke was overwhelming. "Had to crawl around, you couldn't see the visibility was minimal."
They had to blindly feel around for Jenkins who they found passed out on the sofa.
"I got the upper part of her body; he got the lower part of her body and as I stood up, you could see on the roof the flames you could feel the heat."
They rushed her out and Livingston started CPR.
"It was a combination of both, chest compression and mouth-to-mouth going back and forth. I went through a couple of cycles until she reached up and started coughing."
The only thing Jenkins remembers is waking up in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Lyons went around the back of the duplex because the officers feared someone else might still be inside. Sgt. Lyons was trying to find another way inside the burning home when he noticed that the neighbor, Laurenda Boone, was struggling to get out of her side of the duplex in her wheelchair.
"Yes, I was worried. I was worried about myself I was worried about my neighbor. I didn't know what to think; I was just asking God to help us." Sgt. Lyons was able to safely help her out of her unit and down the wheelchair ramp.
And while Jenkins is thankful to be alive, she is struggling. "You know, I lost everything; right now I'm staying at a friend house until I can come back on my feet, but I don't have anything."
So, you remember those Visa gift cards from our community sponsor?
Both Officer Livingston and Sgt. Lyons donated them to Jenkins, taking action for her once again.
