Monday's Internet Edition, May 12, 2008.
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“This was a total surprise to me,” said Lowell Hoover after receiving the award. “We were having a monthly employee meeting and they snuck it up on me.”
The fire occurred on April 4. Mary Reid, an employee of the home, had a pot of cooking oil on the stove, with the burner on medium, in the kitchen of Huffman Cottage, which was built in 1948. She was called to the cottage office to receive a telephone call. After a couple of minutes on the phone, Reid smelled smoke and returned to the kitchen to find smoke rising from the pot. She attempted to move the pot, but when she touched it, it burst into flames. Reid immediately grabbed the available fire extinguisher and emptied its contents on the fire, but it did not get the job done. She then alerted another employee to call the fire department and evacuate the building.
Hoover was outside the cottage, mowing the lawn and unaware of the commotion going on inside, until Reid saw him as she left the building.
“Mary came running out and said the kitchen was on fire,” Hoover recalled. “When I looked in I could see flames coming up from the stove to within three feet of the ceiling.”
After learning that the fire extinguisher had been used to no avail, Hoover hunted down the bread pan. After finding it in a cabinet, he placed it over the pot of burning oil, extinguishing the fire.
Employees at BCS, as well as the fire department, were impressed by Hoover’s quick thinking and effective reaction to a crisis.
“We wanted to recognize Lowell for the good deed that he had done,” said William “Bill” Brummett, director of support services for BCS. “He had done something special. It wasn’t just something that anybody would have done, and we appreciate it.”
The fire department, which has constantly visited BCH over the years, giving fire safety lessons to employees and residents, had similar ideas.
“We just felt that it would be a good idea to recognize Lowell for his act of heroism and concern for health,” said Thomasville Fire Chief Mark Dailey. “We do this occasionally to people who perform outstanding acts of courage.”
Capt. Rocky Watts of the fire department added, “Lowell’s knowledge of basic fire safety and good judgment really turned out for the best.”
Like all fires, there is a lesson to learn from this incident.
“Don’t leave food unattended when you’re cooking for any length of time because anything can happen,” Dailey said. “In this situation, something that could have been very tragic turned out to be positive.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230 or at kreid@tvilletimes.com.