The Loudon County Commission along with Mayor Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw recognized brave heroes of Tellico Village during last Monday’s April 1, 2024, Commission Meeting following two life-threatening incidents that occurred in February.

First Responders Quickly Respond

On Friday, Feb. 23, at 12:36 p.m., Loudon County E-911 Dispatchers Vicki Janikula and Sandra Courtney received a call that a 75-year-old man collapsed and wasn’t breathing at the Chota Recreation Center’s tennis courts in Tellico Village. Janikula and Courtney dispatched Priority Ambulance and the Tellico Village Fire Department to the tennis courts at 12:37 p.m.


In two minutes, Tellico Village Firefighter/First Responder Terry Schade was on the scene assessing the situation. Within five minutes, Firefighters/First Responders Wayne Tinder, Dennis Benedict, Bruce Blodgett and EMT Mike King arrived, immediately helping Schade.

Schade removed the man’s shirt and attached an external defibrillator — shocking him five times, while Blodgett inserted an I-gel to aid in breathing.

I-gel is a type of intubation.

Priority Ambulance Medic 23 and First Responders passed patient care over to Paramedic Clarissa Johnson, A-EMT Mike Watson and A-EMT Johnathan Fields while taking the 75-year-old to the Emergency Room at Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City. Nine additional shocks were administered to the patient while en route to the hospital.

The following day, the patient was transferred to Parkwest Medical Center, where he has reportedly made a full recovery.

During last Monday’s Commission meeting, the patient thanked the First Responders for saving his life. He said that his tennis partner jumped on him and instigated CPR during the two minutes before the team arrived.

“I’m very happy to be here, obviously,” he said. “I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you. Your tax dollars are working good.”

To honor their bravery, First Responders received a County Proclamation from Mayor Bradshaw and Loudon County Commission Chairman Henry Cullen. Priority Ambulance also awarded each responder with a Cardiac Arrest Lifesaving lapel pin.

Priority Ambulance EMS Director Travis Estes was also acknowledged for his leadership of the Loudon County EMT crews.

Brave Bystander, ‘Higher Power’

On Monday, Feb. 12, Phillip Turner III was driving from his home in the Chota area to work in Oak Ridge when he saw black smoke on the horizon. Initially, he thought there might be a controlled fire but thought 7:15 a.m. was a strange time for it.

What he found could have turned into a devastating ending without him.

As he drove past, he could see a house in flames and decided to pull in. When he jumped out of his vehicle, a neighbor asked if it was Turner’s house and that he didn’t think anyone was inside.

The neighbor had been honking his horn and yelling, and there didn’t seem to be any activity inside the home.

“I stood there for about a second and I said, ‘I’m going in,’” Turner said. “I ran into the first floor because I wasn’t convinced that there wouldn’t be anyone inside. I didn’t want to stand there if something bad was going to transpire.”

First responders had already been notified but seeing the house taken over with flames — and not knowing if anyone was inside — didn’t sit well for Turner.

He said he was singularly focused as he went from room to room, yelling out to anyone inside the house. He opened a door that turned out to be a linen closet, and he thought, ‘If there’s a linen closet on the first floor, then there’s probably a bedroom.’

The next door he attempted to open was locked, so he kicked it in and walked to the foot of a bed. Not being able to see very well due to the smoke, he yelled out that the house was on fire to see if anyone was in the room. After a few seconds, Turner said, he heard a woman speak and say ‘What?’.

The woman and her five-year-old son were asleep in the room after taking NyQuil because they weren’t feeling well. The rest of their family were out getting breakfast.

“As smoke was lowering in the bedroom, I could kind of see it getting lower and lower, so I grabbed her and her son and we ran down the hall and then got outside,” Turner said. “I kept yelling at her, ‘Is there anyone else inside?’ Because I thought if there’s somebody else upstairs, I would probably die trying to go get them.”

She said there wasn’t, but they had a dog. Luckily, the dog’s crate was by the door when Turner went back inside to get it.

“The brave men and women of Loudon County came and extinguished the fire — and the police responded,” he said. “I just feel blessed.

“I don’t believe in luck like that. I believe there was a higher power that put me there, because I went in a little later than normal.

“I just believe I was at the right place at the right time.”

During the Loudon County Commission meeting, Turner was awarded the Outstanding Citizenship Award by Loudon County Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael Hodge, Fire Chief Bill Hart and Mayor Bradshaw.

In a social media post acknowledging Turner for his bravery, the Loudon County Fire Department stated, “There (were) no smoke alarms in the house at the time of the fire. Working smoke alarms are the first notification of smoke or fire, increasing the chances of survival.

“If you are in need of smoke alarms, please contact us and we will install them free of charge.”

Loudon County Fire Department can be reached at (865) 986-2882.