JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Flagler County Sheriff’s Office K9 handler was recognized for his heroism while rescuing a three-year-old child from a burning home in Palm Coast last October.
Deputy First Class Marcus Dawson received the 2022 Flagler County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award from Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida on Thursday night.
FCSO says on the evening of Oct. 17, Dawson responded to a house fire in the W section of Palm Coast. After receiving no response from anyone inside, deputies say Dawson entered the home through an unlocked screen door in the back patio and spotted a child watching cartoons while hiding under a blanket in the master bedroom.
Dawson carried the child out to paramedics, who checked him out and found no injuries, deputies say.
Watch the rescue:
FCSO says Dawson joined the department in March 2016 after serving his country for eight years with the United States Air Force, leaving the service as a Staff Sergeant.
Deputies say he is currently a member of FCSO’s K9 Unit and Emergency Response Team.
DFC Dawson is also a volunteer mentor with FCSO’s Police Explorer Program, the same program he joined in 2006 while attending Flagler Palm Coast High School.
Dawson becomes the sixth consecutive FCSO sworn member to win this award.
