By Marc Liverman
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — An Asheville firefighter is reliving the moments of saving a man’s life who was trapped inside a car filling with water in the French Broad River during Helene.
On Thursday night, Jay Bettencourt was just one of many heroic men and women recognized at the Asheville Fire Department’s annual awards ceremony at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville.
This year’s event was especially poignant after Helene.
Bettencourt and fellow firefighter Corey Bass were positioned along the French Broad when they were called to rescue a man trapped inside a car in the river.
“Cruising around looking for people and while we were putting the boats in the water, some bystanders ran up to our boats and told us there was a guy in a car across the river,” Bettencourt said.
Bettencourt said he and Bass jumped into a rescue boat as the water inside the man’s car kept rising.
“Luckily we were able to pull the door open and use the motor to help push it open and then pull this guy out into our boat,” Bettencourt said.
Even after the team saved the man’s life, the challenges they faced didn’t stop.
“It’s funny. Our boat motor died right then. It got a bunch of gunk in the propeller and died and so my guy Corey had to flip the motor up, fix it really quick and get it going again and then we pushed off,” he said with a smile.
Bettencourt was presented with the Medal of Honor, which is considered the most prestigious award given by AFD for a firefighter who risks their life to save someone else’s.
But like so many other humble first responders recognized, Bettencourt didn’t want any credit.
“It’s cool that we’re coming together and celebrating all the wins we had,” he said.
Asheville Fire Department’s annual awards are typically held around May 2, the day the department was founded back in 1882. This year, it was on May 1.
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