News

Mills River honors firefighter for rescue

The Mills River Town Council honored firefighter Donnie Kilpatrick for rescuing a handicapped man from a house fire.

By Bill Moss, Published: June 12, 2015

MILLS RIVER — When a call came out for a house fire at 15 Independent Lane, Mills River firefighter Donnie Kilpatrick swung quickly into action.

“It was a familiar address,” he said of the call last Wednesday. “We have a lot of (medical emergency) calls there. He’s got issues with falling and things like that. I got on the stick because I knew it has the potential to be serious.”
Kilpatrick and the fire crew arrived to find the house quickly filling with smoke.
“There was a fire behind the dryer and the wall had caught on fire,” he said. “By the time we got there there was pretty heavy smoke inside the outside.”
The wheelchair-pound homeowner, Doug Hendricks, was in the kitchen “more or less waiting for somebody to give him some help getting out,” Kilpatrick said.
A firefighter since he was a teenager, Kilpatrick, 54, was that somebody. He got Hendricks outside and turned him over to the care of EMTs, who treated him for minor smoke inhalation. He did not have to go to the hospital. Firefighters quickly contained the fire. The house has been repaired and Hendricks is back home.

Kilpatrick, a fulltime firefighter with the Mills River department for five years, is also chief of the North Transylvania Fire & Rescue Department.

The Mills River Town Council recognized him with a plaque on Thursday.
“For clearly saving a handicapped man and for service above and beyond we want to recognize and thank you,” Mayor Larry Freeman said.