| Name: | Travis Hasselbacher |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | Copperas Creek Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Volunteer |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Vehicle rescue |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2014 |
| Incident City: | Canton |
| Year of Incident: | 2013 |
| Incident Location Type: | Street/Road |
| Incident Attribute: | Traffic accidents |
Copperas Creek Fire Department Firefighter Travis Hasselbacher was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during a car accident in Canton on July 28, 2013.
In the early morning, Hasselbacher was driving home along Route 9 when he saw black smoke near Teddy Bear Junction. As he neared the smoke, he saw a truck and a car had crashed head on and were laying in a ditch. The driver of the truck was lying in the road while his truck was engulfed in flames. Hasselbacher first went to the car, where he found the driver penned underneath the dashboard. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to get the man out of the car, the truck was almost fully involved in flames. He busted out all the windows of the car to help vent the vehicle.
Hasselbacher put his fire coat over the man to protect him from the heat while he went to the victim lying in the road, pulling him to a safer place in the ditch. He then returned to the car, where he saw gas was leaking out of the bottom of the vehicle. The director of Cass-Putnam Rescue Squad, Julie Barclay, happened to arrive on the scene and had a chain in her personal truck. She backed her truck up to the car, and Hasselbacher crawled under the car despite it being covered in gas, antifreeze and oil, and attached the chain. Barclay then pulled the car safely away from the truck before the fire could spread to the man trapped in the car.
When first responders arrived, the victim was extricated and life-flighted to Peoria.
Citations:
Hannah Schrodt, “Going Above and Beyond,” Canton Daily Ledger, June 7, 2014.