Exchange Club of Albany honors Firefighter, Paramedic of the Year

ALBANY — Officials of the Albany Fire Department and the Dougherty County Emergency Medical Service came together Friday for the Exchange Club of Albany’s annual recognition of the agencies’ respective Firefighter and Paramedic of the year.

Kevin Prince was honored as Firefighter of the Year, while Hal Pinson was chosen as Paramedic of the Year.

“A man’s character is measured by how he treats others,” said Albany Fire Chief Ron Rowe in reference to Prince. “I can tell you the way Kevin treats others is unconditionally. I know by being around Kevin and seeing his impact and influence that his priorities are his faith, his family and his other family.”

According to Rowe, Prince’s “other family,” the Albany Fire Department, benefits from the recipient’s leadership, mentoring and willingness to serve.

On June 15, while Prince and his family were vacationing in Florida and Prince was enjoying the surf with his children and a few of his nieces and nephews, he noticed that his 14-year-old niece had been struck by a unusually large wave and was missing from view.

Prince scanned the water, Rowe said, and caught sight of her “boogie board,” then saw her floating in the waves.

“Instantly, he went to her realized she was having a seizure,” Rowe said. “He then pulled her to shore and began patient care.”

Someone called 911, and despite some others around him insisting CPR should be performed, Prince’s training told him what he should do, Rowe said.

“I had a momentary feeling of panic when I realized she wasn’t there (in the water),” Prince said later. “When I could see here again, everything else sort of faded away until I could get to where she was.”

Once Prince had waded the 60 yards or so to the beach, he lay the girl in the “recovery position” on her side so the water could leave her lungs.

“I could tell when I was carrying her that she was sort of breathing, so we didn’t need to do CPR … just get whatever was in her lungs out again.”

The seizure lasted around 10 minutes, Rowe said, after which the girl began throwing up water and sand. When paramedics arrived the niece was rushed to the hospital.

“There’s no doubt his niece is alive today due to his quick actions and his patient care,” Rowe said. “Kevin will never say that he should get credit for his actions this day, but that just shows another character trait of this man … being humble.”

Paramedic of the Year Pinson, a supervisor with Dougherty County EMS, was introduced by EMS Director Greg Rowe.

“On the morning of June 9, Pruitt Healthcare Palmyra had a fire in Wing One, which started in a bathroom,” Rowe said. “Palmyra Road was blocked by police cars, EMT trucks and fire trucks, and the parking lot was filled with (elderly) patients who were scared to death. The fire was out but it had gotten in the ceiling and the whole place was filled with smoke.

“As I was getting ready to call public transportation for buses to help transport the patients, out of the blue comes Hal. He’d gotten the call, sized up the situation and things were moving already.”

Greg Rowe said the seven most crucial patients had been transported by that point, which left only 87 more to accommodate.

According to Greg Rowe, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital was unable to house any of the patients at it’s Albany campus, and so the victims would require transport to Phoebe facilities in surrounding cities, including Ocilla, Ashburn and Valdosta.

“That’s when you appreciate that you have somebody working for you who can handle stressful situations,” Greg Rowe said. “When I got back to the office, Lee County had already dedicated an ambulance for the transport, Gold Star had promised three, Coffee County two, Phoebe Worth two and Turner County one.”

Greg Rowe said that where it ordinarily could require a full day and “into the night” to transport so many victims, the final patient was picked up at 6 p.m.

“Hal is my go to guy,” Greg Rowe said. “I expect a lot from Hal. I ride him hard sometimes because I know what he can do. With people like Hal, my stress level goes down quite a bit.”

Pinson, who’s logged 23 years as a paramedic, referred to the June morning as “organized chaos.”

“I was only trying to make sure everybody had a place to stay and could get the care they needed,” Prince said. “I was really surprised to be receiving this today. I thought my boss was bringing me here for something else.”