St. Bernard Parish firefighter Andrew Nixon honored after pulling woman from burning car

Andrew Nixon, identified at the meeting as a St. Bernard Parish firefighter, described how he and his fiancée pulled a woman from a car moments before it was overtaken by flames, and officials recognized him for the rescue.

At the meeting the chair introduced Nixon as "a St. Bernard Parish firefighter who saved a young woman's life," saying Nixon stopped after seeing an 18-wheeler cut off the car and then pulled the driver to safety.

Nixon told attendees he and his fiancée were returning from a wedding when they saw the crash. "We headed to Mississippi for a wedding...we witnessed the 18-wheeler cutting off the car," he said, and he added that he noticed the struck vehicle's tire was on fire.

According to remarks at the meeting, Nixon broke the windshield and helped the woman out of the car "seconds before her vehicle [was] completely overtaken by flames." Nixon said he "went into work mode" and described feeling in a "firefighter zone" as he worked to get the woman out.

The chair noted that the rescue was a "full circle moment" for Nixon, saying his niece Everly died earlier this year. Nixon told the meeting that thoughts of Everly gave him strength during the rescue.

Meeting leaders thanked Nixon for his actions and praised his willingness to put himself in harm's way to help someone he did not know. The recognition concluded without any formal votes or policy actions.

The meeting record includes Nixon's account and the chair's summary of the rescue; no additional procedural decisions were reported in the segments covering the recognition.