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The Inspirational Journey of an EMT and Hero

by | Mar 2024

JERAMIE BRISCOE is a full-time EMT, a doting father to five girls and one son, a former firefighter, and the owner of a highly acclaimed 4-year-old German shepherd named “Anubis.” With no formal K-9 Search and Rescue training, Briscoe painstakingly trained Anubis and was named a “hometown hero.” He later received a valor award from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

Ever since he was a young boy, Briscoe dreamed of becoming a firefighter. His mother, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2017, pushed and motivated him to be a respectable and well-mannered young man who always did his best no matter what he set his mind to. This advice and determination by Briscoe’s beloved mother helped him begin his journey. At 16, he was Franklin’s first and only junior firefighter. 

Briscoe also earned a Class A Commercial Drivers License and, through the years, has alternated between driving a big rig, working with emergency medical services, and volunteering at two different departments: Warren County and Browning Fire. He also served as a lieutenant at the Barren River Fire Department and spent eight years with the City of Franklin Fire Department.

“I was blessed to be trained and mentored by many veterans within the fire service who made sure I was trained to the highest standards and integrity,” said Briscoe. “In this field, you have to understand that you’ll see people at their worst, and their emergency may not be your emergency, but you must take into consideration how they feel and put their feelings above yours.”

While working as a firefighter in 2004, Briscoe encountered a stranger who was trapped inside his burning home, unconscious and dying. Briscoe took no thought for his own safety when he arrived on the scene. Instead, he dashed into the flames and carried the man from the home, where he and other firefighters revived him. 

In his free time, Briscoe began training his German shepherd, Anubis, to search for missing people. 

“I had no idea how or where to begin. But through persistence, dedication, long hours of training, tears, sweat, and blood, he passed the required test to become a certified search dog, along with me, a certified handler. This is very special because some had no faith that I would achieve this goal, which I persevered, and my faith was strong to never give up.”

Sometime later, a fellow firefighter requested help from Anubis and Briscoe for a search and rescue in Smiths Grove for a missing man. 

“We set out that Sunday with no clue where to go from where he was last seen, but we followed the nose of Anubis. He gave us many signs that were pertinent to the recovery of the missing man. After about four hours of searching, reading Anubis’ behavior, and using the signs Mother Nature and the wildlife presented to us, we found exactly what we set out to find. It was a different outcome than we’d hoped, but it gave the family closure, knowing he [had been] found. To this day, I still can’t believe how far Anubis has come and that he works so proficiently at any job I give him to do.”

Briscoe’s work schedule as an EMT changed from working 24-hour shifts with 72 hours off to 12-hour shifts 4-5 days a week when stage 3 breast cancer struck the mother of his youngest daughter, his girlfriend Christina Wynne. Wynne’s mother lost her battle with the BRCA hereditary gene at 44, so Wynne and Briscoe made up their minds to face this battle together. After witnessing Wynne undergo a double mastectomy, damaged self-esteem, hair loss, and sickness from the chemotherapy, Briscoe said it’s been a rough six months. However, this isn’t the first battle he’s faced, so he works hard to keep a smile on his face, especially when he thinks of what others have endured themselves.

“I look up to a lot of different people in this world, specifically to those who have endured hardships in life yet have prevailed and turned their life around. I commend those people. I, too, have had some unfathomable storms. I’ve tried to turn my mess into a message for others, to motivate them so they can see that they can get through anything. Just keep moving forward, and things will fall into place accordingly. I try to motivate everyone [and remind them] that they are somebody, they are needed, and they are loved. It’s also important to keep striving for your goals, never stop living, always be kind, and never stop believing in yourself.” GN

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