Warren County’s Briggs and Garrard rescued three unconscious men from certain death at Satartia gas leak

Warren County’s Gerald Briggs and Shane Garrard saved three men from certain death in the Satartia gas leak incident last night.

The three men were found unresponsive in a vehicle near the site of the explosion that caused a large area near Satartia to be evacuated.

At 7:35 p.m. on Saturday night, word came in to the E-911 call center that a gas line has exploded near Satartia, and toxic gas was being leaked into the area. The carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide leak let more than 220 barrels of gas loose into the community. The lack of wind and cool weather caused the toxic cloud to stay in the area for several hours.

First responders from several local and state agencies sped to the area to assist in minimizing the impact of the gas. Warren County Fire Coordinator Gerald “Jerry” Briggs and 911 Director Shane Garrard were among those who responded. Briggs and Garrard suited up in their HAZMAT gear to search the area near the gas leak.

While driving a gravel road near the explosion site they saw an occupied vehicle. The three occupants of the vehicle were slumped and non-responsive. They broke a window to gain access, did what they could to treat them on the scene, and then quickly moved them to a rescue vehicle for transport to a safer area.

Briggs could be heard on the radio saying, “Coming in hot,” indicating to rescue units he and Garrard were coming back to the staging area with distressed victims.

All three are expected to fully recover from their exposure to the toxic gas.

Garrard and Briggs went back to look for more victims and worked the exposure area throughout the night looking for more victims. The explosion eventually caused 45 to be hospitalized and 300 residents were evacuated.

Shane Garrard and Jerry Briggs are two of Warren County finest. They are undisputed heroes who saved three unconscious men from certain death in Satartia last night.

Shane Garrard with his family (photo from his social media)

Fire Boss Jerry Briggs with his boss Kelly Suzanne (photo by David Day)