With flames busting out windows and reaching to a second floor, firefighter Michael Nokes made a decision.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service firefighter had to get in the building to see if anyone was trapped. Nokes scaled a ladder and entered the second floor of a Silver Spring, Md., apartment building to find zero visibility in the smoke.
Nokes located a coughing woman in a hallway and led her to the ladder to be rescued.
The Jan. 19, 2018 blaze became another experience in Nokes’ firefighting career, which started when he was a kid learning the ropes at Williamsport Volunteer Fire and EMS.
On March 15, the 27-year-old Williamsport resident was awarded a bronze medal of valor for his actions during the Silver Spring fire at a Montgomery Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony.
Two other firefighters were also awarded a bronze medal of valor for their work that night, as well as six other crew members who received unit citations, according to information from the event.