Oktibbeha County honors Maben firefighter for lifesaving service

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors honored Stephen Boren of the Maben Volunteer Fire Department during their regular meeting on Monday, February 20. Left to right: Marvell Howard, Joe Williams, Stephen Boren, Orlando Trainer, John Montgomery, and Partick Warner. (Photo by Cal Brown, SDN)

Back this past summer on July 29, 2022, Stephen Boren of the Maben Volunteer Fire Department was off duty and was working on a house for his construction company when he noticed a number of firetrucks nearby rushing to a structure fire on Elm Street in Eupora.

When he followed and arrived on the scene, he then heard there was an incapacitated man inside the dwelling who could not escape on his own. Without hesitation, he went in with no equipment or gear and risked his own life to save someone else's.

During the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors regular meeting on Monday, February 20, Oktibbeha Fire Services

Coordinator Patrick Warner and the board members took the time to honor and thank Boren for his selfless acts of courage with a special proclamation for his service.

In the proclamation Warner read to the board on Monday, it stated that Boren's “courageous acts are an example of what every firefighter should strive to be,” and also that Boren has been “an outstanding example of citizenship by giving so much of himself to the community in service and compassion.”

When he arrived on the scene, Boren approached the firefighters he followed and was told about the civilian trapped inside. When he asked about gear and equipment he could use, they did not have any he could use. But that did not stop him from entering the burning home and pulling the man out to safety.

When asked what thoughts go through a person's mind in a situation like that, Boren said there wasn't much time to have any thoughts.

“With the conditions of the building getting progressively hotter and hotter, there was no time for any kind of other action or for us to wait any longer,” Boren said.

Throwing his own safety out the window, Boren's firefighter training kicked in and rushed into the building to save the man's life. Afterward, he helped the other firefighters extinguish the blaze.

Boren has been serving as a firefighter in Oktibbeha County for 23 years.

EMMC president visits the board

Earlier in the Supervisors' meeting on Monday, the board was treated to a visit by East Mississippi Community College President Scott Alsobrooks as he presented an update on what's going on at

EMCC and, in particular, how it relates to Oktibbeha County.

Of the full-time students at EMCC, about 500 of them are from Oktibbeha County.that makes up nearly 20 percent of EMCC'S student bodies, which Alsobrooks says the college is “very grateful” for.

In addition to that, EMCC had 122 students enrolled in the college's dual-enrollment program where high school students can take college classes.

“It's a very important program, and it's something that is growing and that is a great asset for students that are prepared to be able to give a leg up on college work,” said Alsobrooks. “That's something that we're going to continue to promote.”

Alsobrooks added that 100 percent of EMCC students from Oktibbeha County received some form of scholarship.

“I know we're greatly appreciative of the village that comes from Oktibbeha County to EMCC,” said Alsobrooks. “We gave out $2,500,000 in financial aid to Oktibbeha County students during this school year.”

But as Alsobrooks thinks about some of the most significant accomplishments EMCC has made recently, he says it would be really hard to not mention the Community, EMCC'S state-ofthe-art workforce technical training facility at the Golden Triangle Campus.

“What a fine facility that we have that is unprecedented in the south,” said Alsobrooks. “I like to think that in Mississippi, we have the best system of community colleges; at EMCC, we're the best of the best in community colleges and that's because of the support we get from our counties and our legislature. It's very unique to find three counties going together, the legislature, and of course, [Appalachian Regional Commission] funds to build a facility of this magnitude, and I think we're seeing the results of that already with economic development.”