Inmates Saving Life Of A Georgia Fire Chief

Fire chief Matthew Mann and his wife Jessica Mann

Inmates saving their chief from a car crash

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — A fire chief who was seriously injured in a Jan. 19 crash credited inmates for saving his life.

Firefighters at Station Nine are more than inmates, they’re brothers. When their chief was involved in an accident, they didn’t hesitate. “We didn’t have time to think about it. Our training kicked in. Guys started pulling tools off and immediately went to extraction process.”

Chief Matthew Mann’s van was struck head-on. The inmate who was riding along didn’t want to share his story on camera but said he saw the car coming. “I was calling for Chief Mann for a response. He answered and complained about leg pain. I went from there.”

The chief spent months training these men for situations like this. “It was right before our face and it was our own guys. All we could do was just go into training and respond to what we would normally do,” said Abrams.

They pulled Mann from the vehicle before help could arrive. “That is just what we do. Whether it is one of us, a person, an animal. If it requires us to go to work, we are going to work, no matter what.”

Inmates who were trained by Chief Mann at the Walker State Prison Fire Department were following behind the van and put their training in action.

“We didn’t have time to think about it,” inmate Roy Abrams said. “Our training kicked in. Guys started pulling tools off and immediately went to extraction process.”

He was transferred to Erlanger Medical Center, where he went through nine major surgeries in just eleven days. “Something supernatural happened. It was more powerful than we can understand,” said an inmate.

One month after the crash the Chief married the woman, he calls the love of his life. A day the two said would not be possible if not for these inmates.

“Thank you for doing your job, what you were trained to do,” said Chief Mann.

“Them guys know how I feel about them. They have my most up respect. Great group of guys. I appreciate all they did,” said Jessica Mann.

It is life-saving work that helps give these men hope for a better future. For that, they credit Chief Mann. “Everything is on point as of right now because the chief did teach us well down here,” said an inmate.

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