Hamilton County commissioners thanked Markus Fritts on Wednesday, but Fritts didn’t think he deserved it.
After all, the Dallas Bay Volunteer Fire Department chief said, he was just doing his job when he saved a fellow firefighter’s life.
Ken Bingham, also a member of the department, accidentally set his deck on fire during a barbecue one hot July afternoon, Fritts said. After firefighters put out the flames, Bingham collapsed from heat exhaustion
“He fell face forward and he was dead,” Fritts said.
Fritts used a device called an automated external defibrillator to shock Bingham back to life.
Today, Bingham is back helping the department fight fires, Fritts said.
Bingham, who was in the audience at Wednesday’s commission meeting, said there was little he could do to repay the man who saved his life.
After commissioners recognized him, Fritts said it really wasn’t anything special.
“Somewhere someone across the county is doing the same thing I did,” Fritts said. “It’s hard to single out people because there’s people just like me doing it right now.”