Posted in Hometown Heroes on April 17, 2018
PENNSBORO, W.Va. (WDTV) – “I don’t like the recognition, it’s, don’t get me wrong, I like it, it’s nice, I’m just back scenes and just do it to help the people that’s the reason I do it,” says the recipient of the First Responder of the Month Award Michael Leggett.
Just like the other First Responders of the Month, Michael Leggett doesn’t help his community out because he wants the recognition, he’s in it simply just to help.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s worthwhile, it’s nice to get recognized, but I know everybody else feels like I do, it’s about helping people that’s why we sign up and volunteer, nobody does it for the money that’s for sure,” says Leggett.
Legget wears many hats in his small community of Pennsboro, he’s a paramedic, lieutenant, and a volunteer fireman, but a fire prevention campaign that he helped to launch two years ago, makes him a standout for the First Responder of the Month Award.
“He gave elementary school students smoke detectors and in fact, just the next weekend after that, those smoke detectors saved a family’s life and it was particularly touching to us, especially because it shows that you know, these people really make a huge impact in their community within their jobs and, you know, outside their jobs” says an attorney and partner of the Manchin Injury Law Group Taylor Downs.
That smoke detector saved a family of four from their mobile house fire, and Leggett says that this project all started with the kids.
“We try to spend all the time we can, educate them about fire safety, what they should do, what they shouldn’t do and, like to have a little game plan with their family,” says Leggett.
The Manchin Injury Law Group says that people like Leggett, the ones who protect their community without praise, are the reason they started the First Responders of the Month Award in the first place.
“They’re out there doing what needs to be done at the very beginning and they’re not looking for any recognition, they get their reward just from knowing that they helped the community and so we thought those kinds of people needed recognition and they’re the people that we rely on,” says a partner of the Manchin Injury Law Group Tim Manchin.
Leggett chose the Pennsboro Volunteer Fire Department as the charity of his choice, donating the $250 award from the Manchin Injury Law Group back into his community.
If you would like to nominate someone to be a First Responder of the Month, please visit wepixel.in/manchin/nomination.
Michael Leggett Interview
Tim Manchin Interview
Tim Manchin, Michael Leggett, Taylor Downs Award Presentation
