LOVEJOY, Jessie D.
There was heavy fog in the early morning hours of November 13, 1945 when a tractor trailer swerved to avoid rear-ending a car on Washington Blvd, struck a pole, jack knifed, flipped over, then struck another pole causing high tension lines to fall onto the truck, setting it and the surrounding roadway afire. County Police pulled out the driver, who sustained only minor injuries, out of the cab of the burning truck. Fire company units from Berwyn Heights & Branchville arrived and were pouring water on the flames when Firefighter Jessie Lovejoy slipped in the water and oil on the road way and fell onto a live high tension wire. It was reported that for several minutes Firefighter Lovejoy was conscious & giving his fellow firefighters instructions on how to extricate him from the high tension wire before he went unconscious. It was then that Berwyn Heights Fire Chief George Hudgins, acting without regard for his own safety, removed his running coat and used it to pull Firefighter Lovejoy from the wire. Firefighter Lovejoy was rushed to Leland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Firefighter Jessie Delbert Lovejoy was 26 years old. As a result of his heroic actions, Chief George C. Hudgins was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Honor for Heroism.
Listing Details
House
Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department
Age
26
Years of Service
Unknown
County
PRINCE GEORGE
