QUINCY – U.S. Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., presented Quincy Police Department Sgt. Stephen Harder with the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal on Thursday afternoon at Quincy City Hall, recognizing Harder for an act of extreme heroism in 2023.

“We’re here today to recognize the bravery of my new friend, Sgt. Stephen Harder of the Quincy Police Department for his bravery in the face of danger,” Newhouse said. 

On Jan. 10, 2023, Harder rescued a 67-year-old woman from her burning home in Quincy. When Harder, who had received live fire training, arrived on the scene, he saw smoke coming from the one-story home. Once he was inside and saw the smoke from the ceiling to about 18 inches off of the floor, he and an accompanying detective, Jazzlynn Silva, crawled under the smoke to find the unresponsive woman lying on the floor. 

“I believe Sgt. Harder is the true embodiment of a dedicated first responder, and we are very fortunate to have him help protect our communities,” Newhouse said. “In North Central Washington we’re safer, knowing that we have people like Sgt. Harder who are willing to risk their safety in order to help those of us in danger.”

After crawling backward through the home with the woman, Harder performed life-saving CPR to revive the her. She was later taken to the hospital for additional care.

Harder described receiving the medal as “an honor.”

“It’s one of those things where on that day you weren’t really thinking, you were just acting – just responding and doing your job,” Harder said. “Somebody found out about and pushed (my) name forward, and here we are. It’s humbling, it’s awesome, it’s really cool. Lots of cops, firefighters and first responders do this sort of thing all the time and they don’t get recognized for it, so it’s humbling to be one of the guys who gets recognized for it.”

After receiving the medal, Harder thanked his family, friends and colleagues in attendance.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded to those who risked death or serious injury while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. The award, given by the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, has been awarded 10,422 times since the fund’s creation in 1904, according to the CHFC.

“This isn’t something that happens very often in our area,” Newhouse said. 

Newhouse spoke on the creation of the fund, which was organized by Andrew Carnegie in 1904 following a coal mine disaster in Pittsburgh that claimed 181 lives.

“The victims included an engineer and a miner that went into the stripping mine in a valid attempt to rescue others,” he said. “The tragedy so moved Mr. Carnegie, that he took action quickly on his brand-new idea of honoring heroes of civilization.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Quincy Police Department Sgt. Stephen Harder, center, inspects his newly-received Carnegie Hero Fund Medal after receiving the medal from U.S. Congressman Dan Newhouse, left.
  

    U.S. Congressman Dan Newhouse, right, speaks on the inception of the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal, which was created to honor individuals who perform extraordinary acts of heroism.