Jake Martin didn’t think twice. It’s doubtful he even thought once. He just reacted. A hero he is.

A 77-year-old woman was alone inside a house in a rural area north of Halls. Flames were through the roof, the house smoke-filled. Martin, the first responder to arrive, crouched low, walked in through the thick smoke and found her sitting in a kitchen chair, maybe five feet from flames, a knife in her right hand. He took the knife away, loaded her over his right shoulder and carried her through the front door to safety.

Jake Martin

She lives today thanks to this young Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputy. She lives because of the courage required for this 28-year-old hero to go in with only a flashlight to see through the heavy smoke to locate her. Once outside, Martin placed her in the back seat of his vehicle and wrapped her in blankets to warm her on what was a chilly February 11 day.

The woman’s daughter had called 911 to ask if someone could go to the address and check on her mother, that she could be having a “mental episode.” At 12:45 p.m. Martin arrived. The daughter was already there and told Martin her mother may be in “mental distress.” Then they saw the flames coming out of the roof. Their conversation ended. Martin ran to the front door and entered.

“It took me a few seconds to find her. It was really dark. Once I found her and picked her up I had her out in about 30 seconds,” Martin said. “She was not responding to anything I was saying. She was partially clothed and weighed maybe 100 pounds it felt like to me.”

Capt. Jeff Bagwell of Rural Metro said they are pretty sure the fire began in a bedroom, which is what Martin believes as well.

Lt. Heather Reyda, KCSO public information officer, shared that Martin has been named the department’s February Officer of the Month for his heroics. “That means a lot to me,” Martin said. “A whole lot.”

Martin has been with KCSO for almost seven years. He was hired in 2016 and spent almost three years working in corrections at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility. He was moved to patrol in 2019 and is assigned to north Knox County, patrolling Corryton, Halls and Powell.

He is an Illinois native and moved from near Chicago to Anderson County with his family when he was 13. He graduated in 2013 from Anderson County High School and worked as an auto mechanic at Rusty Wallace Honda for three years before joining KCSO.

“When I was maybe 10 years old, I knew I wanted to be in law enforcement. It was a profession that I admired as a child,” he said. “I always thought I had a calling to do this for a job and now a career, to help people when they need help and that’s what I did this time out. You never know what you’ll be doing at any moment and that’s why I wanted to be in law enforcement.”

He is on the KCSO Mobile Field Force Team (the riot team) and in May, on the recommendation of supervisors, will begin training to become an FTO – field training officer. FTOs train the new officers on patrol and is a highly regarded position of responsibility.

That confidence afforded Martin is crystal clear when you read what his supervisor, KCSO Capt. Jason Lubienski, says about him.

“If Officer Martin is the future of professional, moral and ethical policing, the future shows great promise. The citizens of Knox County should feel a sense of safety and pride knowing Officer Jacob Martin has chosen a life of service to our community.”

Tom King has been the editor of newspapers in Texas and California and also worked in Tennessee and Georgia.