| Name: | Jared Thorp |
| Gender: | Male |
| Agency: | DeKalb Fire Department |
| Type of Firefighter: | Career |
| Rank: | Firefighter |
| Type of Duty: | Search and rescue operations |
| Type of Award: | Medal of Honor |
| Year of Award: | 2017 |
| Incident City: | DeKalb |
| Year of Incident: | 2016 |
| Incident Location Type: | Residential |
| Incident Attribute: | Fires |
DeKalb Fire Department Firefighter Jared Thorp was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during a house fire in 2016.
Thorp and his girlfriend were running errands when his scanner alerted him to a house fire with two people trapped inside. When he arrived on the scene, the family informed him that only one person was trapped inside. Thorp entered the home without any gear and went up the stairs to search for the young victim, eventually finding a boy in one of the bedrooms. He had to roll the boy to force the door open. He then had to go out to the front porch to escape the smoke, conditions worsened dramatically since he had initially entered the home. With zero visibility and dangerous conditions, Thorp was forced to wait for further help to arrive to rescue the boy. When other firefighters arrived, he was able to aid them by telling them exactly where the victim was located.
Citations:
“Firefighter receives Medal of Honor for off-duty save,” Fire Rescue1, May 17, 2017.