Brown receives Firefighter of the Year Award

Matt Brown, a fire lieutenant/paramedic, Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) coordinator and SWAT medic coordinator with the Lakeland Fire Department in Lakeland, Fla., received The American Legion’s National Firefighter of the Year Award on Aug. 31 at the 98th National Convention in Cincinnati.

Brown has been with the department for 16 years. He conducts public safety training in his community and has provided thousands of paramedic instruction hours at Polk Community College in Winter Haven, Fla.

According to his nominators, while driving with his wife one day, Brown saw officers with their weapons drawn. He turned on his SWAT radio to hear, “Officer down!” Brown pulled over, grabbed his medical gear, had his wife leave and “began assisting the officers, putting the lives of others ahead of his own.” This is typical for Brown, who has “responded to numerous police officer line-of-duty injuries.”

Brown commented while accepting the award that "it's just such an honor" to have been invited along with his family to the convention.