Each year the McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrates the Irish & Scotch Irish influence within the Roanoke Valley and the entire Southwest Virginia region, plus we have lots of fun and great entertainment. But this celebration is also a salute to those within our community who serve and protect us every day. That’s why this year’s Grand Marshal is Roanoke City Firefighter/EMT Henley Green. Here’s why Henley was selected as this year’s Grand Marshal.

On Jan. 28, 2008 Henley Green was working off-duty from Roanoke Fire-EMS on a landscaping job for a sub-development in Mount Pleasant. It was an average day. He was working on a rock wall and getting ready to go for an early lunch. He got in his vehicle to leave when one of the Superintendents called and said that one of Henley’s co-worker's, who was working in a different part of the development, was having a seizure. Henley quickly drove the ½ mile to where his co-worker was. His co-worker (#1) was inside of a building that was being worked on upstairs. There were no stairs to reach the upper level, so Henley climbed a ladder, some 10 feet up, to reach his co-worker. Henley started checking him out and realized he wasn’t doing well. He didn’t know what was wrong but knew he needed an ambulance quickly.

Another co-worker (#2), who had been working nearby called 9-1-1 on a cell phone. The cell phone signal hit the wrong tower and was patched to a Franklin County dispatcher instead of a Roanoke County dispatcher. While co-worker #2 talked with the dispatcher, Henley called County Station 7 in Clearbrook and talked to one of his fellow firefighters, telling him it was urgent and that they needed an ambulance ASAP. When Henley hung up the phone, he noticed that his co-worker’s (#1) head had slumped down. He told co-worker #2 to hold co-worker’s #1 head up to keep his airway open. Co-worker #2 began to do so, but then out of the blue he passed out, too! Henley then realized that there had to be a problem inside of the building. He quickly opened all windows and co-worker #2 started to regain consciousness. Disoriented, he then began to crawl for the 10ft. high opening. Henley quickly grabbed co-worker #2 and carried him down the ladder to safety outside. After that, he went back inside, climbed the ladder again and carried co-worker #1 out of the building to safety.

When he got co-worker #1 outside, he was not breathing. By this time the ambulance had arrived and Henley assisted them in ventilating his friend. They got a pulse, but co-worker #1 continued to be unconscious. Both men were transported to the hospital. Henley then left the scene, thinking he was okay. On the way home, he started to have a horrible headache, so he stopped at a nearby fire station to have his oxygen levels checked. A Roanoke Fire-EMS Supervisor checked him out and found that his CO levels were three times greater than normal. He then quickly transported Henley to the hospital to be checked out.

After the incident, it was found that a generator running inside of the building caused large amounts of Carbon Monoxide to be emitted. Because of the quick thinking and bravery of Henley Green, two lives were saved that day! Be sure to salute and cheer Henley when you see him and his daughters on the Grand Marshal float during the parade.