Sebring officials honor firefighters after dramatic Lakeview Drive rescue

Sebring city representatives on Monday honored the Sebring Fire Department and Highlands County rescuers for pulling a trapped resident from a house fire on Lakeview Drive.

At the start of the meeting, a council member announced the Sebring Fire Department Chief’s Award for the crew that responded. The presenter identified the crew members by name: firefighter EMT Tyler Simmons, firefighter EMT Michael Sevek, firefighter‑paramedic Vincent Binney, senior engineer Steven Dunn, senior engineer/paramedic Clayton Johnson, firefighter‑paramedic Trenton Carlisle and firefighter‑EMT Nicole Byrd. The council showed a short video of the response.

A Sebring firefighter who described the entry said the crew quickly found and escorted the resident out of the burning home. “I kinda heard a thing yell…and then she came through the back door…we searched the house really quick,” one responder said during the ceremony. He and other responders described coordinating with Highlands County Fire Rescue and moving the patient to a waiting ambulance.

Family members addressed the council after the presentation. One relative said the rescued woman had “breathed the smoke for seven to eight minutes” and called her survival “a complete miracle.” The family presented tokens of appreciation and described visiting the patient after her release from the hospital.

Council members praised the interagency response. “We are very, very thankful for our fire department, our police department, and also Highlands County Fire Rescue,” the presenter said. The meeting closed the recognition with a brief prayer and a round of applause.

The recognition did not include any policy actions; council moved on to routine business after the ceremony.