At a Billings City Council meeting this week, Billings Police Chief Rich St. John presented John Putz with the Billings Police Department’s Outstanding Citizen Award for saving the life of a woman in Pioneer Park on June 29th after she was electrocuted by an exposed power line.
Chaney Little Light, a Billings resident and mother of two, was exercising in Pioneer Park when she came into contact with an exposed, live power line lying on the ground. The line sent an enormous amount of electricity coursing through Little Light’s body and rendered her unconscious. “The victim, who was still in contact with the power line,” St. John said, “was unconscious and unresponsive from the electrocution and at great risk of dying.” The line is owned by NorthWestern Energy, but they had no information on why the line was exposed to begin with.
Putz watched as Little Light collapsed and rushed to her aid, first prying her hand away from the wire using a plastic pen to both stop the electric currents from continuing to course through her body as well as avoid being electrocuted himself before beginning CPR, which he continued until first responders arrived. St. John praised Putz for his ability to keep calm and deal with the situation as safely as possible with “little regard for his personal safety” in his efforts to save Little Light’s life.
“If he wouldn’t have been there, I probably wouldn’t be here tonight in front of you all,” Little Light said after taking the podium during the ceremony. “So, from the bottom of my heart and my family’s, I thank you for giving selflessly to me and not thinking twice about what you did. And you are a hero to, I think, your own family and also to mine. And I just thank you so much for saving my life.”
