A West Virginia University employee who is a volunteer firefighter in his spare time was honored Thursday (April 15) for using his first responder skills to save the life of a student last October.

James P. Mitchell Jr., a trades specialist for Student Affairs Auxiliary Facilities, accepted the Good Samaritan Award during the President’s Health and Safety Awards at Erickson Alumni Center.

He was among nine WVU employees and students recognized by WVU Environmental Health and Safety for their contributions to campus safety the past year.

Mitchell was inspecting fire equipment on the fifth floor of Braxton Tower Oct. 22, 2003, when he found a young man unconscious and not breathing on the floor of the men’s bathroom.

Mitchell, a certified emergency medical technician and first responder with the Masontown Volunteer Fire Department, immediately went into crisis mode. He administered first aid to the student and notified the WVU Department of Public Safety and Monongalia County Emergency Medical Services.

After reviving the student, he stayed and calmed him until rescue workers arrived.

The actions taken by James helped to avert what could have been a tragedy,Jerry L. Howell, operations manager for Student Affairs Auxiliary Facilities, said in nominating Mitchell for the award.

Other individual awards:

University Safety Award

• Frank L. Saus, chemical hygiene officer, National Research Center for Coal and Energy. Saus assists faculty and staff with their research grants and applicable safety issues. He also identifies regulatory mandates and potential hazards in laboratories.

Safety Achievement Award of Excellence

• Albert G.J.R.Taylor Jr., academic lab manager, C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry. For the past 12 years, Taylor has supervised the safe preparation of labs and chemicals in Clark Hall and oversees hazardous waste disposal for the department.

• Paul Ludrosky, academic lab manager, Department of Forestry. Ludrosky has promoted safety within the department, from seeing that all student drivers complete driver safety and first aid courses to training workers who want to use wood shop machinery.

• Ronald W. Clawson Jr., Fayette City, Pa. A chemistry graduate student, Clawson conducts lab safety training for new teaching assistants in the Department of Chemistry.

• Gretchen Russell of Hockessin, Del.; Will Swann of Charleston; Jordan Workman of Madison, W.Va.; and Charlie Battleson of Buffalo, N.Y. As members of the Student Government Association Safety Committee, these four students led the annual campus safety inspection last fall and have worked tirelessly to promote safety issues on campus.

Recipients of the Unit/Building Safety Committee awards were the Department of Chemistry; Downtown Campus Library; Elizabeth Moore Hall; Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center; Knapp Hall; National Research Center for Coal and Energy; One Waterfront Place; Department of Physics; Potomac State College of WVU ; Public Safety and Transportation Services; and Student Affairs Auxiliary Facilities.

The University established the health and safety awards program in 1991 to recognize groups and individuals for their commitment to safety and to honor those who perform actions beyond the call of duty.