Gabe Sewell, a Mobile firefighter since 2011, was honored as the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department’s April Firefighter of the Month for his off-duty dedication to accident victims. (Mobile Fire-Rescue Department photo)
MOBILE, Alabama — A Mobile firefighter was recognized today for his dedication to helping others on and off duty.
Gabe Sewell, who has been with the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department for one year and four months, was selected as the department’s April Firefighter of the Month.
Around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 25, Sewell was driving on Cody Road when he stopped to pull a tire out of the roadway. When he got out, he heard two people asking for help before looking further to see a man lying in the driveway of a home.
The man appeared to have been ejected from a vehicle, according to Steve Huffman, public information officer for MFRD.
Sewell jumped into action, grabbing a pair of gloves from his car and telling a bystander to call 911. The second bystander was directed to check in and around the car the man appeared to have come from, where a second man was found.
The first victim was bleeding from the back of his head. He had a laceration on his right wrist which was “spurting blood,” indicating that his artery may have been nicked, Huffman said.
He was eventually transported by Lifeflight to the University of South Alabama Medical Center.
The second man was conscious and breathing.
“Sewell continued patient treatment until fire-rescue units arrived on scene to take over incident but remained on scene until all patients were transported,” Huffman said.
It is the second month in a row that officials have chosen their Firefighter of the Month in honor of their off-duty dedication to the community.
In March, firefighter Kevin Battiste was named Firefighter of the Month for helping people still dazed in the wake of 2012’s Christmas Day tornado.
The Firefighter of the Month program is presented and sponsored by the Pleasant Valley Opportunity Club.
