CASPER, Wyo. — A Rock Springs man who twice entered a burning home to save an unconscious boy and his mother was handed the Carnegie Medal by Governor Mark Gordon in a recent ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission gives the award to those who perform acts of heroism in civilian life. 33-year-old derrickhand Ryan Pasborg made the list late last year.
“Ryan’s actions epitomize the first rule of the Wyoming Code, the Code of the West to ‘Live each day with courage,’” Gordon wrote on the ceremony announcement.
Pasborg was on his way to work on Feb. 2, 2022, when he smelled smoke and saw flames behind the front window of a Green River home, according to the commission’s announcement.
Three siblings had escaped and alerted Pasborg that their brother and mother were still inside the burning home. Pasborg went into the house and up a staircase, where intense smoke forced him to his hands and knees.
“He crawled farther into the house and came upon the boy. Hugging the boy with one arm and still crawling, he retreated until he could stand and eventually carried the boy through the garage to safety,” the release said.
Pasborg then went back and crawled through the kitchen and searched through the heat, flames and smoke until he found the mother, unconscious, and dragged her to safety.
“Pasborg performed CPR on the woman before driving her and the children to first responders at the end of their long driveway,” the commission wrote.
The boy later recovered from burns to his arms and legs. The mother suffered burns to more than 60% of her body but recovered. Pasborg inhaled smoke but did not seek medical treatment.
