Cherokee man honored for pulling friend from blaze

Scott Vicznesky never gave it a second thought when he rushed into his neighbor’s fiery house, groping his way through the 400-degree heat and thick black smoke so acrid he could taste the burning plastic and wires.

He knew Mike Duggan, who is disabled, was inside.

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Bob Andres/bandres@ajc.com

Scott Vicznesky (right) has been awarded the Boy Scouts highest heroism medal for rescuing his neighbor Mike Duggan (left) from a burning house in December. The rarely awarded medal was presented to Vicznesky during his son’s Eagle Scout ceremony.

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Vicznesky picked up a dishwasher in his path and threw it out of the way. Then he spied the silhouette of his neighbor who had broken into the blazing house to rescue his seven dogs and two exotic birds.

Vicznesky led his neighbor to safety.

For Vicznesky’s bravery in the December fire, the Boy Scouts of America has awarded him its highest medal for heroism, the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms. The medal has been presented only 200 times since 1924.

Vicznesky thought his Cherokee County neighbors were dead in the fire, since it was consuming their bedroom. Fortunately, they had been visiting friends. They arrived home to find their house ablaze.

“I used an air ratchet to break the glass door and was fighting heavy curtains and a couch to get to my pets until this burly guy pulled me back,” Duggan said. “I said, ‘No, I can’t go. My dogs are in here.’ “

Vicznesky knew the pet rescue was hopeless. “I looked at him and held him by the arm and said, ‘If we don’t leave now, we’ll never get out.’ “

A Scout colleague nominated Vicznesky, 44, associate adviser for Crew 637 of Venturer Scouts, which meets at his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Bascomb Carmel Road in Woodstock.

“I told them I really didn’t want any award for what I did,” said Vicznesky, a former Army sergeant and father of 10 children. “I don’t think I did anything heroic. I just helped out a friend.”

Vicznesky was guided by the Boy Scout oath — especially the part about “To help other people at all times,” not just when it’s convenient — the Scout motto, “Be Prepared,” and the Scout pledge, “Do a good turn daily.”

“He saved my life,” said Duggan, 57, who now lives in Kennesaw. “If he hadn’t grabbed my arm, I would have gone on in.”

“I was panicking as much as Mike was,” Vicznesky said. “It didn’t matter what the outcome was. My friend was in there.”

When they drove up to their house, Duggan’s wife stayed in the car while he tried to enter the house and Vicznesky ran onto the scene, barefoot and in his pajama bottoms and a hastily thrown-on shirt.

“When she said he’s in the house, that really scared me then,” Vicznesky said. “I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to go in.”

Vicznesky credits his military background, faith in God and Boy Scout training for his actions.

“In any situation, I’ve always remained calm, maybe because I have got so many children,” he said. “They’re always falling or breaking bones. I had to stay calm and bandage them up or take them to the emergency room.”

He had worked full time at his Southern Starr Construction company until the economy went bad. Now he works at Wal-Mart four days a week and installs decorative metal work on houses two days a week. The night of the fire, he finally got back to bed at 4 a.m. and was up at 6 o’clock to go to work.

After the extensive evaluation process of his nomination, Vicznesky was told that despite his protests there would be an award ceremony. He conceded and asked if it could be combined with his son Daniel Vicznesky’s Eagle Scout ceremony Oct. 1, with his son’s permission.

“I did not want to overshadow his Eagle Scout ceremony,” Vicznesky said. “What I did took a couple of minutes. What he did took seven years.”