State Fire Marshal and Insurance Commissioner recognizes local first responders
Mike Causey visits Black Mountain and Swannanoa Fire Departments
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 22, 2021
N.C. Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey, left, presented the Commissioner’s Award to five first responders at the Black Mountain Fire Department, Oct. 21. The two Buncombe County EMS personnel and three Black Mountain Firefighters were recognized after successfully delivering a healthy baby in front of the fire station earlier this month. Pictured from left to right: Causey, Cameron Bradley, Allison Bradley, Chance Hensley, Derek McKinney and Will Lonon. Photo by Fred McCormick
The early morning hours of Oct. 12 were unlike any experienced by five first responders on duty in the Montreat Road station of the Black Mountain Fire Department. However, even as they were called to an emergency taking place right outside the front door, their training took over and a healthy newborn baby was brought into the world.
On Oct. 21, N.C. Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey recognized their heroic response.
Causey made two stops on his Thursday visit to the Swannanoa Valley, where his final action was to honor the three Black Mountain firefighters and two Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services personnel who delivered a baby in a car that arrived at the station early last week, around 6 a.m. The couple in the vehicle was en route to Mission Hospital from McDowell County.
“We were asleep, and our pagers went off,” said Cameron Bradley, a county paramedic who is regularly stationed in Black Mountain. “You hear that dispatch, and a lot of times it’s not a live birth, meaning we transport them to the hospital and they give birth hours later.”
Bradley responded to the call with his pregnant wife, Allison, who was working a shift in the station at the time. Within two minutes of waking up, the Bradleys and three Black Mountain firefighters realized the birth would likely happen on the scene.
“As soon as I got down to the apron (in front of the bay doors), I looked over there and realized this was going to be a birth,” said Cameron, who was experiencing a live birth scenario for the first time in his 15-year public service career. “You don’t really have time to react, your muscle memory and training just kick in, and you go to work.”
First responders maneuvered the ambulance and medical equipment to the nearby vehicle, where a soon-to-be mother and father were anxiously awaiting their help.
“I was in the front seat with the mom, Allison unloaded the equipment and the firefighters showed up with a stretcher, towels and everything else we needed,” Cameron said. “It was a great team effort where we all relied on each other.”
Within minutes, a healthy baby boy was safely delivered into the arms of emergency personnel. The Bradleys transported the couple and their son to the hospital.
“It was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting,” Allison said of the experience.
Cameron agreed.
“By the time we cleared the hospital and came back here, my adrenalin dropped, and that doesn’t really happen to me so much anymore,” he said. “But, it definitely happened that day. I’m just happy that everything went well.”
Causey presented the Bradleys and Black Mountain firefighters Derek McKinney, Will Lonon and Chance Hensley with the “highest designation of appreciation for distinguished service to the people of the State of N.C.”
Black Mountain firefighter Chance Hensley greets N.C. Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey, Oct. 21. Causey recognized five local first responders who responded to a live birth in front of their station earlier this month. Photo by Fred McCormick
“I just want to thank you all for all that you do for us everyday, especially in this case,” Causey said after presenting the first responders with the Commissioner’s Award. He then listened to Cameron recount the events of that morning.
The commissioner came to the station from Swannanoa, which he visited earlier in the day to announce a new Insurance Services Office rating for the fire department and rescue squad. The ISO reflects a department’s ability to protect the community, and is used to set home insurance rates in the fire district. It is determined through regular inspections by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and scored a scale of 1 to 10, with lower scores representing better results.
Swannanoa’s ISO rating improved from a 4, which it earned in 2014, to a 2. Chief Anthony Penland attributes the new rating to his department’s response to its previous inspection. The new ISO rating is effective Feb. 1, 2022.
“We looked at that inspection and identified areas we could improve,” he said. “This inspection reflects the work we’ve done over the past seven years to improve that rate.”
State Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey, right, announces a new ISO rating for the Swannanoa Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad Chief Anthony Penland. Photo courtesy of April Riddle/Office of State Fire Marshal
There are numerous elements that factor into the rate assessment process, according to Penland.
“The training of your personnel is one, and the number of personnel you have responding to structure fires is another,” he said. “They also consider the equipment you carry on your apparatus, the number of apparatus you have and the pump capacity on that equipment. There are a lot of things, administratively and operationally, that are taken into account during this comprehensive inspection process.”
The department expected a better score this year, according to Penland, but staff were pleasantly surprised to learn of the two-point improvement.
“This makes us one of 73 departments in the state with that rating,” the chief said. “Usually you see them go down by one point, and we anticipated that, but we were happy to see all of the work we’ve done pay off.”