On Thursday, May 5, 2022, Escondido Fire Department Chief Rick Vogt presented the 2022 Spirit of Courage Award to Firefighter Nicholas Bohr

Firefighter Nicholas Bohr was just sitting down on his couch after a rigorous day of training at the fire academy when he heard the crash. It was loud enough that he thought the collision could be right outside his front door. He immediately grabbed a small medic bag running toward the sound. Just a few houses away, a small car had leapt over the curb and crashed into a big-rig tow truck parked in the driveway, which news crews were able to capture video of later in the evening.

As Bohr arrived at the scene, he saw a handful of people milling around apparently not knowing what to do but observe the accident scene. He quickly herded the onlookers back to a safe distance, understanding that the collision scene still held many dangers.

As he approached the mangled car, he could not see anyone inside – no passengers, no driver. Walking toward the front, he realized that the driver had gone through the windshield and was hanging unconscious off the hood of the vehicle. Bohr saw a bystander on the phone with dispatch, and quickly got on and explained the situation before returning to the crash. That was when he noticed fuel leaking from the car. Almost as soon as he saw the leak it flashed over with flames erupting.

Not sure if the driver was still alive, Bohr grabbed the man and started to pull and drag him to safety away from the quickly spreading flames. He then moved him a second time once he realized they were still in the path of danger.

Bohr felt for a pulse and saw the man lose his pulse, so started CPR and pumping his chest. He continued until the man started to spontaneously breathe. By then, on-duty firefighters had arrived and were responding to the vehicle fire so Bohr worked with the EMT to get the equipment on the semi-conscious man and saved his life.