FORT KNOX, Ky. — Four youths who live on Fort Knox are being hailed as heroes for their quick actions during two separate incidents recently.
The four – 10-year-old twins Cameron and Easton Salisbury, 9-year-old Declan Blackburn, and 7-year-old Carter Dargan – were honored Nov. 16 at a small ceremony inside the bay of Fire Station #1, where each received a certificate of appreciation and a coin from Fort Knox Garrison Commander Col. Chris Ricci.
Ricci and other leaders were on-hand along with the children’s family members to applaud the four.
“For the ages they are,” said Fort Knox Fire Department Chief Jason Lewis, “these are pretty significant achievements for all of them.”
The first incident happened Oct. 20, when the Salisbury twins and Blackburn were hanging out at night with a new friend at the park in the Oak Park neighborhood. The friend fell wrong off of a slide and broke his arm.
No adults were present, according to Fort Knox Fire Department officials, so Blackburn called 9-1-1 on a watch and provided clear guidance to the firefighters, even guiding them with a flashlight to the location of the injured child while the other two stayed with him until help could arrive. Blackburn also called the boy’s parents to alert them to the incident.
“The responders who were on scene that night were blown away with the level of composure they displayed,” wrote one official, later.
In early November, Dargan was playing in his cul-de-sac in Austin Court when he noticed smoke and flames coming from a neighbor’s garage. According to fire officials, he immediately ran over to the homeowner’s front door and alerted them about the fire. He then ran home and asked his mother to call 9-1-1.
“This is another display of calm demeanor and courage from such a young youth to be able to act when faced with an emergency,” wrote the official.
During the ceremony, Ricci offered the young heroes an opportunity to share some wisdom and advice with the crowd. Blackburn seized the moment.
“… caring about everyone that you care about because you need to think about others before you,” said Blackburn. “You know, others are much more important than you, so you need to think first about other people.”
Those gathered clapped and cheered.
As a bonus gesture of appreciation, firefighters offered each of the boys an opportunity to ride to school in a fire truck. Dargan received his ride to Kingsolver Elementary School the morning of Nov. 16. The Salisbury twins received their ride to Van Voorhis Elementary the next day. Because Blackburn attends school off post, firefighters were unable to provide him with a ride.
“We’re looking to recruit them in a couple of years,” said Lewis. “We’ll see if we can get them on the payroll.”
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