Md. First Responders Win Statewide Awards for Service

Matthew McKeel, 26, and William Andrews, 45, both took home awards from the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, the statewide agency that oversees first responders.

McKeel, an emergency medical technician, won a Maryland Star of Life Award, given to a person or team for an outstanding rescue. Andrews, an emergency dispatcher, won Emergency Medical Dispatch Provider of the Year, given to a dispatcher whose quick response helped to ensure the caller's survival.

Despite the tenure of the awards, both men were modest when asked about their wins.

"To be honest, I don't feel like I deserved it, because all I was doing was my job," Andrews said.

"It was nice being recognized for it, but at the end of it, it's all in a day's work," McKeel echoed. "It's what I love to do."

McKeel was nominated for the award after saving a woman from a burning SUV after a single-car crash near Thurmont. He said he had just returned home from work when he heard the crunch of metal-on-metal and drove up the road to see what had happened. When he arrived on the scene, on southbound U.S. 15 just before Roddy Road, he found an SUV flipped over with its passenger side to the ground.

After scanning the car, he saw that the driver was trapped inside by her seatbelt and that fire was rapidly spreading. He used a two-in-one set of trauma shears and a window punch to break the sunroof, cut the seatbelt and pull the woman to safety. A bystander called 9-1-1 while McKeel assessed the woman, stabilized her and stayed with her until a helicopter arrived to fly her to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

"Everything was happening so fast in my mind, I can't even describe the color of the car or what she was wearing," McKeel said. "... It's one of the ones where if I could go back and do something different, I definitely would have wanted my fire gear."

Andrews was also nominated for providing extraordinary emergency service. He was the dispatcher to field the 9-1-1 call from Karen Osborne, the 63-year-old Frederick woman attacked by a black bear outside her home on Irongate Lane.

While Osborne lay injured on the ground, and the bear growled in the background, Andrews stayed on the line with her while directing as many units as possible to the scene.

It was his cool-headed demeanor, and confident response, that set Andrews apart from other dispatchers, said John Woelfel, the director of the Frederick County Emergency Communications Center.

"When you think about it, for us to get a 9-1-1 call from someone who is actually being attacked by a bear—c'mon, that's once in a lifetime," Woelfel said. "Some people might have fumbled around like 'What do I do, what do I do?' but he stayed very calm."

While McKeel never met the woman whose life he saved after she was flown to the hospital, Andrews got a chance to reconnect with Osborne when she appeared onstage at the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce's Public Safety Awards in March, where he also won telecommunicator of the year.

Andrews said that speaking with Osborne was the most rewarding part of the whole experience.

"We very seldom get to know the outcome of what happens, and it was nice putting a face to the voice," he added. "She credited me with saving her life, but I think she saved her own life."

Neither Andrews nor McKeel have any plans to slow down after receiving their awards. Andrews has worked as a dispatcher for three years and also volunteers at the Graceham Volunteer Fire Co. in Thurmont. McKeel, similarly, has been an EMT for three years and volunteers with fire companies in both Frederick and Washington counties.

Both described their work as their primary passion in life.

"I love running medical calls, and I love running fire department calls," McKeel said. "There's just something about helping the community. You can't get an adrenaline rush any other way."

Follow Kate Masters on Twitter @kamamasters.

___ (c)2017 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) Visit The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.) at www.fredericknewspost.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.