Deputy Buriak receives Distinguished Service Award

Adams County Sheriff Deputy Ben Buriak received a Distinguished Service Award and medal during a ceremony on Friday, May 18. Adams County Sheriff Doug Barger presented Buriak with the award for his selfless action and courage showed during a house fire in Lind on Feb. 20 when Buriak attempted to rescue three-year-old Amy Garcia.

“We do this for our living, and there’s the old adage of ‘running towards the gunfire’ and it’s something that we do, but this was special circumstances,” Barger said. “I’ll tell you what, there’s not a single guy on the back wall that wouldn’t do it and I’m sure Ben would do it again without hesitation.”

Buriak was in Lind when the fire broke out and upon making contact with the family, he learned there was still a child in the house. Buriak rushed into the home without protective gear and made several attempts to rescue the child.

Barger presented Buriak with a certificate and a medal, which Buriak can display on his dress uniform when he deems appropriate. After the presentation of the medal, Barger provided Buriak with the opportunity to address the crowd.

“I wasn’t expecting this, and I’m touched. Again, just like you (Barger) said, I wouldn’t think twice about doing it again, and neither would anybody in this room,” Buriak said. “I’m not a hero: I didn’t do anything anybody else wouldn’t have done. My biggest thing is that, we’ve talked about in the office, is I wasn’t a cop: I went into dad mode. A small child was hurt, and I can guarantee you anybody else in this room would’ve done the same thing.”

“It’s very proud for me to have guys like Deputy Buriak and all of the deputies that are here today, it makes it a lot easier to administer an agency when you know you have some quality people,” Barger added. “The citizens of Adams County should be aware of that too: we have some really good folks here.”