When 7-year-old Kevin Fisch's foot went through an aquarium, leaving him with deep gashes in his leg, brother Matthew, 10, went into his Scout-training mode and quickly launched into action. He elevated the leg while his mother applied pressure, and he called 911 and his father. For his actions, he was awarded for his "meritorious action" by the Patriot District Boy Scouts of America.
Matthew remembered that day last August.
"I just felt like, this can't be happening. I thought about all I learned at Scout camp. I tried not to panic. My heart was beating really fast," he said.
His father, Fred, was on the other end of that first phone message, which was initially left on the answering machine at work before Fisch called back.
"He was excited, but he maintained his composure. I didn't. I thought it was his artery and it could have been fatal. At the end of the message, he said, 'But Dad, it's going to be OK,’" he said.
At the monthly Scout meeting on April 15, Matthew received an award from Tony Ryan, the Patriot District chairman of the Boy Scouts. He was there at Cherry Run Elementary School with the senior district executive, Brian Luss.
"It's for using the skills he's used in scouting in some special way. What this young man did was keep a cool head. He did all the right things in an emergency situation, kind of unusual for a 10-year-old," Ryan said.
Matthew is currently a Webelo Scout, which is between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. He is in Pack 1344 out of Burke. This is his fourth year of scouting where he's been involved with summer camp, Pinewood Derby and the Rain Gutter Regata.