Engineer Justin Tinsley awarded Medal of Valor

When faced with danger, true courage is measured not by words, but by actions.

West Pierce Fire & Rescue Engineer Justin Tinsley’s heroic, life-saving actions have earned him a Medal of Valor for a second time.

Tinsley received the award at Tuesday’s Board of Fire Commissioners meeting.

The Medal of Valor is the highest honor a West Pierce Fire & Rescue employee can receive. It is not given out often and is only bestowed when the recipient has incontestably risked their life to save others.

Back on Dec. 9, 2024, Tinsley was off-duty and driving on Highway 507 between Roy and McKenna when he discovered a vehicle that had lost control and hit a tree head-on.

Before he could make contact with the driver, he saw the vehicle had caught fire and was significantly damaged. A nearby bystander attempted to extinguish the flames but failed.

The driver made no effort to escape the vehicle, signaling significant head trauma from the crash.

Tinsley immediately sprang into action, using his own pocketknife to cut the injured driver’s seatbelt and pull them out of the vehicle. Within minutes, the passenger compartment was fully engulfed in flames.

He then performed a rapid trauma assessment and began treatment with a personal aid kit until South Pierce Fire & Rescue arrived on-scene and took over.

Battalion Chief Erik Morin, who nominated Tinsley for the award, wrote Tinsley’s actions “placed him at great risk and undoubtedly saved the life of the driver.”

This is Tinsley’s second Medal of Valor. He received his first in 2017 for rescuing three men whose boat capsized during a storm. This also happened while he was off-duty.

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