Robertson County honors EMS and 911 after house fire; cyanokit administered to smoke-inhalation patient

Robertson County commissioners on May 18 recognized the coordinated work of deputies, 911 operators and EMS personnel who rescued a bedridden woman from a house fire and treated her for smoke-inhalation injuries.

"This was the 1st patient in our county since we've been carrying it to receive the hydroxycobalamin," said Brent, a detective who described the overnight response and the role of dispatchers, deputies Allison House and Chance Carlisle, and ambulance crews. Brent said dispatchers relayed the patient’s location and that deputies and EMS entered a heavy-smoke interior to remove the woman to safety.

Brent described the patient’s subsequent care: paramedics intubated her at the scene, a trauma center diagnosed a grade-1 inhalation injury, and hospital staff removed the breathing tube before the weekend. "She is doing very well, very stable," Brent said. He noted the county now carries hydroxycobalamin (often called Cyanokit) on ambulances to reverse cyanide toxicity from smoke inhalation.

Commissioners thanked 911 staff by name — Katie Greer, Tim Baxter, Danielle Jones, Taylor Poole and Derek Johnson — and presented tokens of appreciation to the responders. The recognition came during National EMS Week and included invitations from local hospitals to EMS appreciation events.