USIC’s Underground Utility Locating Vocational Training Provides Hands-on Experience

Birmingham, AL Technician Keena Dowdell was performing a locate when he heard screams and ran to help. A nearby house was on fire, and the elderly, disabled man inside could not get out of the window or to his phone to call for help. Keena got his shovel and broke the window but could not loosen the security bar enough to get the man out. He began trying to force the front door open while calling the fire department and finally got through to help the man escape. The man was then taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. “I just saw the man was in there trapped,” Keena described. “The house was on fire. I just tried my best to get him out of there. I feel really good about it. This is the first time I’ve been in a position to save someone’s life like that.” Thank you, Keena, for your heroic actions, which saved a life!