Zanesville Fire Chief and Police Officer honored for heroic actions

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Two of Zanesville’s finest were honored this morning for going above and beyond the call of duty.

First up, Assistant Fire Chief Doug Hobson was given a Certificate of Appreciation for helping a ZPD officer during a domestic incident in September of last year. Hobson said he was driving when he noticed a situation that wasn’t quite right. He called police and waited for them to arrive on scene. Once there, an individual on the scene tried grabbing the cop and Hobson sprang into action helping the officer place the person under arrest.

“This is a brotherhood whether it’s police, [or] fire. We pick on each other everyday, but when it comes down to it we all want to go home to our families,” said Hobson. “We all respect each other and we all serve the community on a daily basis. And I would never let one of my brothers, whether it be fire or police, ever be in trouble without doing something to try to help.”

A Zanesville Police Officer was also honored with a Life Saving Award for helping woman who was shot outside of Dairy Mart in January. Officer Alan Etters, who is part of the SRT swat team, used a tourniquet to treat the woman’s wounds until paramedics arrived on scene. Etters said he didn’t have to think twice about helping the woman.

“I just, I had to do something, had to act. Like I said, training it kicks in. I didn’t even really think about it. You know, as I was exiting my car I was already reaching for my tourniquet without even thinking about it,” said Etters. “It’s a great honor. Praise is few and far between anymore it seems like, you know, everywhere.”

The men were able to celebrate their awards with their families in attendance. Hobson was also made an honorary cop for the day.