Cliffside firefighters and Rutherford County Sheriff's deputies recognized for bravery

Cliffside firefighters and Rutherford County Sheriff's deputies were recognized last week for bravery in rescuing a man entrapped in a house fire early on Christmas Eve morning 2022. Plaques were presented by the Cliffside Fire and Rescue Department to assistant chief John Splawn, firefighter Austin Brown and sheriff's deputies Caleb Buitron, Joseph McComas and Michael Snyder. At 5:47am on December 24, 2022 Cliffside Fire and Rescue as well as other departments responded to a structure fire at 130 Hines Road in Mooresboro with a confirmed entrapment. Firefighters were met by sheriff's officers who had assisted a female occupant out of the house and provided information about the location of the male occupant that remained trapped inside. Within six minutes of arriving on the scene the male occupant, Floyd Buckner, was removed from the structure by Cliffside fire crews. He was transferred to Rutherford County EMS and then airlifted to the burn center in Augusta, GA. Nancy Buckner was transported to Rutherford Regional Medical Center where she was treated for smoke inhalation. Mr. Buckner succumbed to his injuries on December 25, 2022 at Doctors' Hospital in Augusta. The Buckners' daughter Zelda Murray thanked the 911 communicators who kept calm during the situation, those who led her mother to safety and those who put their lives at risk going into the fire to find her father. She said "each one was a hero." Nine members of Cliffside Fire and Rescue responded to the call which was the third structure fire call they had received in a 12-hour period. Responders were faced with cold temperatures with wind chills at minus six degrees and wind gusts up to 36 miles per hour which caused supply lines and fire engine pumps to freeze. Crews remained on the scene for approximately five hours.