Emergency responders honored for saving officer's life, fired all in the same day

It is something Fortville Officer Matthew Fox thinks about every day. Fox was ambushed in late July. Twelve shots were fired, Fox was hit and could have died.

"It is always on my mind, it will never go away," said Fox.  "I think about it a lot quite honestly, it will never go away."

Thanks to emergency responders, he lived. On Oct. 5, he thanked the men and women who saved his life.

"Law enforcement, public safety in general do not get enough 'atta boys' in a way," said Fox.  "I wanted to show them that they did a great job and their hard work and dedication pays off."

Fox also got a pair of surprises, the Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart.

"I am speechless," said Fox.  "I was not prepared for this.  I am very happy."

One of the responders honored also found out he will be out of a job in 10 days.

"It is one of those things, I am happy for him, and I am sad that I am no longer going to be employed," said EMS employee Darren Study.

Nineteen other city employees were told they too would be looking for work.  After 20 years of service, Study did not expect to be let go, on such a special day.

"It starts to make me wonder, what did I do to deserve this?  And obviously it has to do with finances and funding," said Study.

Study took the bad news in stride.  He showed up to receive his award, but he said the night was bittersweet.  He was glad to be honored, but fearful about what Oct. 15 will bring.

"I enjoy coming to work, I enjoy what I do. I try to work as hard as I can every day to make myself a better paramedic so I can provide better patient care," said Study.  "Unfortunately, the call I got today says you are no longer going to be able to do that here."