By-Line: Julie Murphy, Flagler County Government
Sometimes the right person is in the right place at the right time to do something extraordinary for someone else. That happened on Monday morning (January 13). Off-duty Flagler County Firefighter Paramedic, Domonique Bennett happened to be at Whiteview Parkway where it intersects with U.S. 1 when a young man’s blue car struck a construction compaction roller and burst into flames.
Bennett, who is a graduate of the Flagler-Palm Coast High School Fire Leadership Academy and is now working for the county, jumped into action and extricated the patient from his burning car. The patient – declared a trauma alert because of the type of accident and other clues about the type and severity of the potential injuries – was airlifted by Flagler County Fireflight to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Fire Chief Michael Tucker visited with the patient, whose identity has not been released, at the hospital (January 14). The young man is currently in stable condition.
“This is what our firefighters train for day in and day out,” Tucker said. “Domonique Bennett is an exemplary young firefighter, who stepped up to do the right thing for someone in our community. He just passed the paramedic exam and now has that status.”
The Fire Leadership Academy began in January 2017. The program of study is a joint effort between Flagler Schools and Flagler County Fire Rescue, Flagler Palm Coast High School, and Flagler Technical College.
Bennett has worked for Flagler County Fire Rescue since May 2023. He is one of 11 firefighters in the department who graduated from the Flagler-Palm Coast High School Fire Leadership Academy.
“This is a wonderful program and opportunity for our local students,” Tucker said. “They are ready for the job upon completion, and it is a great benefit to us to be able to hire from within our community.”
The program is designed to be a four-year program in which students start their freshman year and finish the summer after their senior year. Upon graduation, students are prepared to take state examinations for certification as Firefighter II and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
