Scott firefighter earns ARC Lifesaver’s Award Published May 22, 2013 By Senior Airman Jake Eckhardt 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The American Red Cross presented its Lifesaver's Award to Staff Sgt. James Fligor, 375th CES fire department crew chief, May 9 for his rescue actions during a deployment last summer. Fligor and his team, then assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Wing fire department in Southwest Asia, rescued an unconscious maintainer inside the belly of a KC-10 Extender refueling aircraft. "We had to get in there," he said. "If we didn't act when we did, he would have died." The victim had passed out because of exposure to the fuel and heat. To reach the unconscious maintainer, the firefighters removed their protective gear except for the maintainer's on-board supply air respirator. This allowed them to move through the passages easier because of its 300-foot hose instead of the two-foot hose they had on their equipment. The crew climbed a ladder to reach the belly of the aircraft. From there, they moved through four small, fuel-soaked passages connected by a small corridor that had just enough room for one person to crouch in. The team placed a self-contained breathing apparatus on the unconscious Airman after verifying he was still alive. The team also began the tedious task of getting him out. After 45 minutes, the firefighters pulled him to safety. The maintainer was sent to the hospital and made a full recovery by the next day. "It feels great to earn this award," he said. "It was definitely a different experience."