Shenandoah patrolman recounts effort to save child as he receives Spirit of Courage award
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Shenandoah Police Patrolman Mark Hysock accepts his Spirit of Courage award in Center Valley on Oct. 14, 2024.
CENTER VALLEY, Lehigh County – A Shenandoah police officer was among several first responders from across eastern Pennsylvania recognized for heroism in the face of fire Monday night.
Patrolman Mark Hysock received a Spirit of Courage award from the Burn Prevention Network in a ceremony at DeSales University in Center Valley, south of Allentown.
Hysock was recognized for his efforts to save a child in a house fire in Shenandoah Heights in December of 2023.
He was joined at the ceremony by his mother and sister as well as about a dozen friends from the fire service in northern Schuylkill County, many from the Shenandoah Fire Department where he volunteers.
Hysock recalled the incident in a video shown at the awards ceremony, saying that he and Captain Cody Applegate were returning to the borough police station when the fire call came in.
Midway up the Heights hill, an update was received saying there was a child trapped.
“When I got on scene, mom was outside, very frantic… there was a little bit of smoke around the front of the house,” Hysock said. He went inside, wearing only his police uniform, and he found a younger child trying to wet a towel in the bathroom to try to save the baby. He convinced the child to head to safety while he went to the child on the third floor.
“I got down, I started crawling [through the smoke,]” Hysock said. “When I was crawling I was able to hear the baby crying, so I knew there was a chance.”
Inside the room, he found the bed aflame and the baby was laying on the side of the bed, he said.
“As quick as I can, I grabbed the baby and got out of there,” Hysock said.
The child was taken downtown to the Shenandoah helipad where it was flown to Allentown.
“My partner that day was one of the first to give me a pat on the back,” Hysock said, “he said ‘You gave that kid a chance at life.'”
Hysock said that he had been told that if he hadn’t been there, the child didn’t have much longer.
“Last I heard, the baby made a full recovery,” Hysock said.
In accepting the award, Hysock said it was an honor.
“We are grateful to be able to celebrate each and every individual at this event and are privileged to share this year’s honorees’ inspirational stories,” Corissa Rolón, CEO and executive director of the Burn Prevention Network, said in a media release.
Hysock has been a Shenandoah firefighter for about 10 years and a police officer for just over a year.
The event presented John Salka as a keynote speaker, sharing his experience as a 33-year firefighter and battalion chief with the Fire Department of New York.
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