Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
S.W. Bell Technician Awarded Medal for Lifesaving Courage
If he'd stopped to think, Curtis Patterson said he probably would have been scared.
But Patterson didn't stop. He simply acted, braving the flames of a fast-moving grass fire and hot, downed power lines, to save a woman trapped in her car on a rural road outside Waco, Texas, last summer.
Now the Southwestern Bell customer service technician and member of CWA Local 6225 has been awarded a bronze medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund, which recognizes extraordinary acts of civilian heroism. But like so many people who risk their lives for others, Patterson downplays the attention and says he just did what had to be done.
"The wind was blowing hard that day and the fire was moving. Before I knew it, it was right there on us," he said. "I knew I had to do something."
Patterson, 38, was on his way home in his company truck when he came across the accident scene. Driver Margaret Ratliff, 31, had lost control of her sedan and struck a power pole. She was trapped inside.
While another passerby called 911, Patterson headed toward the car and told Ratliff to stay calm, that everything would be OK. He could see that she was badly pinned in, with her seat shoved forward and twisted and the console crushed. As the fire sparked by the fallen power lines swept under the car, he raced to move the console, cut the victim's seat belt and pull her out of the passenger door.
She pushed with her feet and he pulled, getting her to safety just moments before the car was engulfed in flames. Ratliff said there's no question he's a hero. "Of course he'll say it wasn't something special, but he's so wrong," she told the Waco Tribune when the paper wrote about Patterson's Carnegie Award recently.
"With the fire and electricity, I can't say how I would have done it," she said. "He put his life at risk to save mine. That is the long and short of it."
Ratliff and Patterson and their families - her three sons and his two sons are close in age - have become good friends in the months since the incident.
Patterson's local is also singing his praises. "He's an excellent employee and real union leader," Local 6225 President Steve Williams said. "He doesn't want any accolades, but we're all very proud of him. We think the Carnegie Award is very well deserved."
But Patterson didn't stop. He simply acted, braving the flames of a fast-moving grass fire and hot, downed power lines, to save a woman trapped in her car on a rural road outside Waco, Texas, last summer.
Now the Southwestern Bell customer service technician and member of CWA Local 6225 has been awarded a bronze medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund, which recognizes extraordinary acts of civilian heroism. But like so many people who risk their lives for others, Patterson downplays the attention and says he just did what had to be done.
"The wind was blowing hard that day and the fire was moving. Before I knew it, it was right there on us," he said. "I knew I had to do something."
Patterson, 38, was on his way home in his company truck when he came across the accident scene. Driver Margaret Ratliff, 31, had lost control of her sedan and struck a power pole. She was trapped inside.
While another passerby called 911, Patterson headed toward the car and told Ratliff to stay calm, that everything would be OK. He could see that she was badly pinned in, with her seat shoved forward and twisted and the console crushed. As the fire sparked by the fallen power lines swept under the car, he raced to move the console, cut the victim's seat belt and pull her out of the passenger door.
She pushed with her feet and he pulled, getting her to safety just moments before the car was engulfed in flames. Ratliff said there's no question he's a hero. "Of course he'll say it wasn't something special, but he's so wrong," she told the Waco Tribune when the paper wrote about Patterson's Carnegie Award recently.
"With the fire and electricity, I can't say how I would have done it," she said. "He put his life at risk to save mine. That is the long and short of it."
Ratliff and Patterson and their families - her three sons and his two sons are close in age - have become good friends in the months since the incident.
Patterson's local is also singing his praises. "He's an excellent employee and real union leader," Local 6225 President Steve Williams said. "He doesn't want any accolades, but we're all very proud of him. We think the Carnegie Award is very well deserved."