Seaside firefighter and medic Jeramy Houston received the “Winged S” Sikorsky Rescue Award last week. The award came after Houston responded to a March incident in which a 25-year-old hiker fell more than 100 feet from a Hug Point cliff.

The award, delivered by U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jeremy Smith at a ceremony at Hug Point, is presented to individuals who participate in a rescue on a Sikorsky helicopter.

At about 4:20 p.m. on Friday, March 5, Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue received a call of a person that fell off the cliff. Both Seaside Fire and Rescue and Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue were asked to send their rope rescue teams to assist. The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to see if they could pick up the patient.

Houston roped down to the beach to provide medical assistance to the patient and was later hoisted into a MH-60T Sikorsky helicopter for the rescue extraction. They flew to the Astoria Airport, where the patient was transferred to a waiting Life Flight helicopter and flown to Legacy Emmanuel for treatment.

Along with volunteering with the fire department, Houston is a flight paramedic with Life Flight Network.