An emergency vehicle from Montgomery Fire and Rescue, where Miles McMinn is a firefighter. Courtesy | Facebook

Less than one month after his 18th birthday, Reading High School senior and Montgomery firefighter Miles McMinn jumped into a creek to save a man who had driven his car off the road on Jan. 25.

“It was my training instincts from learning everything Montgomery has taught me,” McMinn said.

The man was driving on McCallum Street, on the west side of Montgomery, when his car slid down the bank and landed with its front end in the creek, Montgomery Fire Chief Henry Snellenberger said. The driver has since died, according to the Hillsdale Daily News, but the cause has not been reported.

McMinn earned his full firefighter certification on Dec. 31, 2022. He said he was returning from breakfast with his parents in Coldwater when his father saw the car in the creek.

“My mom went to the fire station and picked up a rescue and had Julie Fish drive it back with my mom,” McMinn said. “Station 2 came, which is our mutual aid department in Camden. Jeff Firestone showed up with Logan Allwardt. A little bit after that, Station 2 took over mostly for getting the patient out. We assisted a bit, but mostly with medical care.”

The force of water kept rescue crews from opening the car doors. First responders cut through the roof to reach the man, who could not exit the vehicle on his own due to a medical episode, according to Snellenberger.

Jeff Firestone, a medical first responder, arrived shortly after with other medical personnel.

“Our crew went into the water and into the car that was in the water, secured the patient, and got him up and out of the river,” Firestone said. “We helped load him into the Reading Emergency Unit ambulance and provided any kind of support care.”

Firestone said the department had yet to respond to a call for a car that had slid down a bank into flowing water.

“There will be a change of protocols as far as flowing water and stabilizing vehicles and such,” Firestone said. “We look forward to that training. When you get something in the water, the water pushes harder against everything. It’s all a learning experience.”

Firestone said he was impressed with how well the Montgomery and Camden departments worked together.

“Two departments can work so closely together with very few words,” Firestone said. “Everybody just falls into place, and they know what they’ve got to do to get the job done.”

McMinn was first on the scene but said the rescue was a team effort.

“It wasn’t all about me,” McMinn said. “It was everybody that was there.”