Receive national medal for heroic actions
Two of Luling’s newest firefighters weren’t even done with their basic training when they heard the cry for help.
“I heard a loud bang and a scream…it appeared from a distance that there was a pair of feet hanging out from under a truck,” firefighter Britton Allshouse said.
Allshouse and fellow firefighter Kody Dufrene were recently awarded Distinguished Service medals for saving the life of a man who got trapped beneath a truck he was working on.
According to Allshouse, the two of them were exiting a Raising Canes on College Drive in Baton Rouge—on a lunch break from fire academy training—when the accident happened. Across the street, they saw that a lowrider-style truck had malfunctioned and fallen on top of the man who was working underneath it.
“We calmed his friend down then basically counted ‘one-two-three’ and lifted the truck off his chest,” Allshouse said. “Nobody was around but his friend, and no one really noticed what was going on—he could’ve died.”
As a result of their actions, the man was able to get up without further assistance.
Allshouse said that as part of their academy training, the duo were mentored by their instructor that humility is a part of being a firefighter.
Allshouse said the two of them took this lesson to heart, only telling select family members about the rescue. Those family members included Allshouse’s dad, an assistant fire chief for Hahnville.
“I really didn’t expect the award. I totally forgot about the whole thing because, I mean, it’s what we do for our job,” Dufrene said.
Allshouse suspects that his proud father may have provided the impetus for recognition.
“That’s what caught us by surprise when they presented that award,” Allshouse said.
Dufrene and Allshouse completed their academy training in November and became the first trained, paid firefighters in the Luling Volunteer Fire Department.
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