Union High School student’s role as a firefighter is ‘rewarding’

It’s not a typical day in the life of most teens, but for Union High School junior Grace Henry, a member of the Brookville Volunteer Fire Department, what happened June 10 is something a firefighter must anticipate.

During the early morning of that day, a 70-year-old Brookville man was driving east along Main Street in Brookville when his car went out of control. It headed for a steep embankment when it hit a tree and came to a stop. The fire department was dispatched.

“I pulled myself out of bed and I went with my dad, who is the assistant chief. We found the accident on the way to the station and stopped,” Henry, who lives in Sligo, recalled.

The fire chief, she said, instructed her to pull the victim from the vehicle, after which she began compressions for about two minutes.

“My training sort of kicked in at that point,” Henry said.

Emergency medical personnel arrived quickly.

“EMS was right behind us and they put the (automated external defibrillator) on the patient, and after it advised the shock my deputy chief took over the compressions. Then we transported him by ambulance to the Brookville Hospital,” said Henry, who rode with the EMT in the ambulance to assist him.

This was not the first cardiac arrest with which Henry has had to deal.

“I had done it two times before. That was my first save, however,” Henry said. “That was a very rewarding experience, knowing that I was part of the team that helped bring someone back.”

Unfortunately, it was learned the victim later died at a Pittsburgh hospital.

However, Henry knows she can take solace in knowing her efforts helped to provide hope for the victim.

Family tradition

Henry – the daughter of Steve Henry, of Brookville, and Shannon Saylor, of Sligo – has been with the fire department since she was 15.

“I love being in the fire company. It is my favorite thing to do,” she said.

For Henry’s family, fire service is a tradition.

“Everyone thought the tradition would not continue because we are a generation of girls, but I am in it and my cousin is in it,” she said.

Her plans are to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a dual major in aeronautical sciences and astronomy, with minors in aerospace engineering and Spanish.

During her college years, she plans on joining the Air Force ROTC program and to one day be an Air Force pilot. She also wants to work at NASA as an astrophysicist.