January 14, 2021

East Mississippi Community College alumna Britney Thrasher has been named a recipient of the 2020 EMT Life Saver of the Year award by her employer, Pafford Emergency Medical Services.

Thrasher, a 2016 graduate of EMCC’s Emergency Medical Technician program, was presented the award in December.

“I was kind of at a loss for words when my boss told me,” Thrasher said. “I had never been awarded anything like that before.”

Thrasher works on a Pafford ambulance crew stationed at the Starkville Fire Department. On May 19, 2020, she was among multiple emergency responders who worked to free two men from a collapsed trench at the Valentine townhouses in Starkville.

The men were laying pipe about 10 to 12 feet deep when the trench collapsed on them, according to media reports.

“We were assisting the paramedics and the fire departments,” Thrasher said.

Emergency responders worked hours to free the two men, both of whom died — one on scene and the other while en route to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo via an Air Care helicopter, according to media reports.

Thrasher’s co-worker, Joey Faulkner, who was also part of the rescue effort, was awarded Pafford’s 2020 Paramedic Life Saver award. Pafford employs more than 900 full-time and part-time workers and operates 120 ambulances, three helicopters and three fixed-wing aircrafts across multiple states, according to the agency’s website.

Thrasher was a student at Choctaw County High School when she first began thinking about a career in medicine. Her brother was injured in a wreck that left one person dead. A friend of Thrasher was also seriously injured in the wreck.

“Seeing all the first responders there checking on my friend and my brother just kind of stuck with me,” Thrasher said.

After high school, she enrolled at EMCC with plans to become a nurse. Thrasher later decided to enroll in the EMT program, which she said better suited her.

“For one thing, you aren’t doing the same thing every day,” she said.

In addition to her duties as an EMT, Thrasher also serves as a field training officer for Pafford, working with new EMT hires to familiarize them with the job.

She sees herself working with the company until she is ready to retire.

“Pafford is an amazing company that makes you feel like family,” she said.

Thrasher resides in Choctaw County near Mathiston with her husband Kyle and her 2-year-old daughter, Kylie, who is already showing interest in her mother’s chosen field.

“Kylie is obsessed with ambulances, fire trucks and helicopters — anything that has to do with momma,” Thrasher said.