[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE HEROIC EFFORTS OF BILL CARR AND JEFF KEEZER

 Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, today it is my great 
honor to recognize the valiant efforts of two volunteer firefighters 
from Ainsworth, NE.
  Mr. Bill Carr and Mr. Jeff Keezer of the Ainsworth Volunteer 
Firefighter Department were instrumental in the April 22, 2002 rescue 
attempt of Timothy Culpepper, a digital communications worker who was 
stranded more than one thousand one hundred feet in the air when a 
fifteen hundred foot telecommunications tower he was working on 
partially collapsed near Bassett, NE.
  When a wire snapped disabling and stranding Mr. Culpepper, several 
agencies, including the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, were 
called upon for the dangerous rescue mission. However, upon arriving at 
the scene, response teams realized they were ill-equipped to perform 
the high-altitude rescue.
  Bill Carr, a carpenter and married father of three, had spent many 
summers during college painting tall communications towers. Jeff 
Keezer, a married father of one, works for a steel company that erects 
hundred-foot grain elevators. Though these experiences could not have 
adequately prepared them for this dangerous and technically challenging 
rescue. They quickly volunteered to help.
  With no regard for their personal safety, Mr. Carr and Mr. Keezer, 
armed only with estimations of the exact height of the stranded worker, 
began to make the physically challenging two-hour ascent to rescue the 
man who was hanging only by a harness. Carrying bundles of rope and 
heavy rescue equipment, these brave firefighters, along with a handful 
on colleagues from the Lincoln Fire Department, scaled the tower amid 
30-mph winds and with dwindling daylight. Upon reaching Mr. Culpepper 
it was discovered that tragically he did not survive the impact of 
tumbling debris.
  Mr. Carr and two other firefighters managed to scale the total 
distance to Mr. Culppeper in ninety minutes while Mr. Keezer, with 
heavy rescue equipment on his back, and two other firefighters scaled 
to the half-way point to manage the recovery effort and descent that 
lasted more than 3 hours.
  Unfortunately these two brave and selfless first-responders were 
omitted from an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. on February 14. 
Though the Department of Justice didn't recognize their efforts, Mr. 
Carr and Mr. Keezer can forever hold their heads high knowing their 
bravery and the fabric of their character has made all Nebraskans, and 
especially their neighbors in Ainsworth, proud of their actions.
  Mr. President, heroism comes in many forms and the courage displayed 
by Mr. Carr and Mr. Keezer with danger present is a shining example. 
Nebraskans like Mr. Carr and Mr. Keezer are selfless, honorable and 
just and they are what makes living in Nebraska living ``the good 
life.''
  I am proud to represent Nebraskans like Mr. Carr and Mr. Keezer who 
are committed public servants. Volunteer services are an essential part 
of small-town America. Without the brave and selfless efforts of 
everyday citizens like Mr. Keezer and Mr. Carr, many rural communities 
would lack vital protection and security. The city of Ainsworth and the 
state of Nebraska are fortunate to have courageous citizens like Jeff 
Keezer and Bill Carr. These men are true heroes.

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