The American Red Cross has given Captain Brandon Moore of the Park City Fire Department the Good Samaritan Award for his bravery in assisting, while off duty, a critically injured automobile accident victim.

The Good Samaritan Award is one of 13 Community Hero awards given to Salt Lake City-area residents each year by the American Red Cross for their acts of exceptional courage. The award recipients will be honored at an award luncheon on March 13 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

Moore said he was shocked to have been named for the award. “It is a great honor. The other incidents within this category are pretty dramatic rescues,” he said.

Moore personally witnessed the entire crash, which happened on Interstate 80 at mile marker 141, from the deck of his home. He said the car had a flat tire, ping-ponged and flew off the road backwards, and then wrapped around a telephone pole. The victim’s car flew off the freeway onto a hill, where no one was able to reach him.

Moore had to climb up the hill, turn off the car, reach the victim, and assist him with breathing while stopping the victim’s bleeding. “I had to do a lot at once,” Moore says. “It was such a mess with the car wrapped around the pole that not more than one person could have reached the victim.”

Unfortunately, the individual did not survive the incident; however, Moore said he was grateful to be there with the victim, trying to help him, in his last minutes of life.

Moore grew up in Salt Lake City and has been working with the Park City Fire Department for over 10 years. Helping victims in unfortunate situations is nothing new for Captain Moore. He sees each emergency that he responds to as an opportunity to become an even better firefighter.

He recalls one situation, early on in his career, when a victim of a house fire was close to the entry door of a home, instead of at the back of the home, which is what he expected from his firefighting training. From that experience, he learned to never take anything for granted. “You never know what to expect,” He says. “Always keep your eyes open with a solid situational awareness.”

When asked why he wanted to become a professional firefighter, he stated, “I wanted to be there, in those outside situations, prepared and able to create positive outcomes for people.”

Moore also thanked the American Red Cross for the award, the Park City Fire District for the support they have given him through the years, and his parents “for all of their love and support.”