KUSA – Jimmy Rhodes grabbed the closest fire extinguisher and ran right toward the heart of a monster.
Nineteen seconds after he turned that fire extinguisher on, Rhodes pulled pilot Patrick Mahany out of the crumpled, burning Flight for Life cockpit.
“There was a split second – a brief moment – where I was like, I don’t think I can do this,” Rhodes told 9Wants to Know.
“But I just don’t know if I could have lived with myself knowing I was that close and wasn’t able to complete where I set up to do,” he added.
Nearly three years after Rhodes’ heroic actions in Frisco, Colorado, the CT technician received the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month, Rhodes became the 10,001st recipient of the honor, which began in 1904 to recognize “civilians who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others.”
The July 3, 2015, crash of the Flight for Life helicopter happened very shortly after takeoff from St. Anthony Summit Medical Center. Flight nurse Dave Repsher managed to get himself out of the helicopter but suffered burns on more than 90 percent of his body as a result of the massive fire that erupted seconds after impact.
Mahany didn’t survive the massive internal injuries he suffered as a result of the crash, but Rhodes’ actions managed to keep the pilot alive long enough for his wife to get to the hospital and say good-bye to her husband of 12 years.
Karen Mahany nominated Rhodes for the Carnegie Medal.
“I can’t repay Jimmy for what he did,” said Karen Mahany. “He just became a part of my heart.”
When Rhodes received the medal, Karen was there to help place it around his neck.
“People now getting to know what Jimmy did and who he is… this is… this is pretty amazing,” she said. “Jimmy was one of the miracles.”
