Presentation of certificates of valor. (L-R): Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams, Deputy Shane Allen, Nate Byerly with Churdan Rescue and Greene County Supervisor Chair John Muir in October 2019

Two Greene County first responders have earned Iowa’s highest award that a first responder can receive for an October 2019 incident.

Greene County Deputy Shane Allen and Nate Byerly with Churdan Fire and Rescue were recently selected for the Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor from the governor’s office and the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The award is given to first responders that distinguish themselves by a performance of a heroic act in excess of normal demands at his/her risk of personal safety.

The award for a life-saving act was from October 10, 2019. Byerly and Allen were first on the scene of a vehicle that had gone into the West Buttrick Creek at 5:17am. The 55-year-old driver lost control of her jeep due to a medical condition. As they were waiting for a rescue boat, Byerly and Allen threw a rope to the victim, which she couldn’t get secured, and that’s when both men jumped into the freezing cold water. Byerly recounts what happened next.

“So we swam down. I had one rope tied to my waist. I’d gotten ahold of her and pushed her closer to the shore. Deputy Allen grabbed ahold of her, we had some people up on the shore helping to grab ahold of all of us as well. And that’s really when the cold started to set in. Your realize that things are cold at that point because now your adrenaline has slowed down because you realize there’s a chance that everyone’s going to make it out fairly safe at this point.”      

The female victim was then treated for minor injuries at Greene County Medical Center and was later released. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the in-person ceremony that was supposed to happen later this month has been delayed to 2021.