Boyle County honors sheriff and Danville fire marshal for tornado rescue of child

Boyle County Fiscal Court presented certificates of heroism July 8 recognizing Boyle County Sheriff Taylor Bottom and Danville Fire Marshal Scott Lawson for their response to a tornado in Washington County that led to the rescue of a 3-year-old child.

The court read a citation honoring “extraordinary courage, swift action and selfless service” after Sheriff Bottom described how he and Lawson searched debris-strewn terrain and found the child about 600–800 feet from her home. “I turned back towards the house on the incline, dropped my chainsaw, dropped to my knees, and began to pray,” Bottom said during the meeting. “After about 5 to 10 minutes, Scott and I heard her voice say, ‘I'm here.’”

The nut graf: the recognition highlighted the immediate, on-scene actions by local first responders during a life‑threatening tornadic event. Court members emphasized that the award acknowledged both bravery and coordination among agencies that moved the child quickly to hospital care.

According to Sheriff Bottom’s account to the court, he first encountered multiple blocked roads and downed trees en route to the scene, then met Washington County and Danville fire personnel who led him to a residence with multiple casualties. He and Lawson followed a destruction path through stacked debris; law enforcement radioed ahead to the hospital and coordinated traffic control to speed emergency transport. The child required emergency care and later was transported to the University of Kentucky hospital with multiple fractures and a collapsed lung, the sheriff said.

Danville Fire Marshal Scott Lawson joined Bottom in the search and later assisted in carrying the child to the vehicle. At the meeting Lawson said briefly that continued community and county support — particularly funding for emergency services — is essential to allow first responders to do their jobs. Several court members thanked the pair and invited them forward to receive framed certificates.

The presentation was framed as an official recognition by the fiscal court; a written citation read to the body cited the pair’s “unwavering dedication to duty” and commended them on behalf of the “grateful community.” No formal ordinance or monetary award was announced at the meeting.

Court members and community speakers also used the recognition to urge continued investment in first‑responder staffing and equipment. Sheriff Bottom and Lawson both thanked the court for the recognition and echoed that funding and community support make such responses possible.

The court scheduled no further action related to the recognition; the certificates were presented at the meeting and entered into the record.