(OBA®) - The Orange Beach City Council on Monday, November 2 recognized the heroic actions of resident Chandler Rayborn during the night of Wednesday, September 16, 2020 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally. 

In an official letter of commendation, the City Council honored Rayborn for his actions during a devastating fire on Jubilee Point Road at the home of his neighbors. They were unaware of the blaze and Rayborn’s quick actions to notify his parents of the fire saved their neighbor's lives. 

Council Chairman Pro Tem Jeff Boyd, also a neighbor of Rayborn, made the presentation during Monday’s council meeting and explained how the scene unfolded on September 16 with the neighborhood still flooded from Sally. 

“About midnight,” Boyd said, “Chandler woke up to go to the restroom and when he did his window was open and he saw orange flames and went and woke his parents up. He got them up and got them outside and went next door to the neighbor’s house. The neighbors are Clint and Sue Saunders who are sitting at the table here. They were sound asleep, dead asleep. And they banged and they banged and they banged. Needless to say guys they were in water chest deep and waist deep getting to it. Had Chandler not woke his parents up, he would have never gotten the Saunders out of the house.

“The second part of that story is that as they got the Saunders out of the house and the firemen were coming over ... swimming hoses down Jubilee Point to get there. The Rayborns - Melissa, Jack and Chandler - had to stand and watch the fire jump from the one house to their house and both houses burned to the ground. 

“And tonight we’re here as a special occasion because Chandler is a true hero. He’s a true hero in our neighborhood, in our hearts. I’m proud of you. 

“The Saunders may not be here had you not woke up that night and not done the heroic act that you did.”

Boyd said he had kayaked to the scene of the fire that night and it is times like that when you really understand how special it is to live in Orange Beach. 

“I had tears just rolling down my face watching my neighbors house burning,” he said. “And all of those fire guys, with their love, they swam those hoses to the fire to save the third house. Had they not swam to the houses, we would’ve lost a third and it possibly could have gone through the neighborhood.” 

“So, Chief,” Boyd said motioning to Fire Chief Mike Kimmerling, “I can’t recognize or commend enough your guys and what they have done and y’all’s leadership in the role of what y’all have done. So thank you and I’m just proud to be a part of what we have here in this city.” 

Boyd presented Chandler with the framed letter of commendation signed by Mayor Tony Kennon and the entire council and also a city challenge coin. As explained in the letter, challenge coins are presented by our city to individuals who go above and beyond the call of civic duty to make a difference in our community. The coin represents the city’s values: “Integrity, Excellence and Family.” 

Additionally, Chief Kimmerling presented Chandler with a special Orange Beach Fire Rescue helmet. 

“Well, I make this comment quite a bit about the fire service,” Chief Kimmerling said before surprising Chandler with the helmet. “The fire service is the ultimate team sport. We have to work as a team to accomplish all of the things that we talked about here today. And that team doesn’t just mean personnel on the fire service but it means people who live in our community as well. Without some of these quick actions: recognition of this being an emergency, making that call to 911, getting us there, (and) directing us to where we need to be, we may not have been able to make the difference that happened that night.”

“So I again want to commend you very much for your work to do this,” Kimmerling said with Chandler at his side. “And we have something special for you as a token of our appreciation. This is an honorary helmet.”

Live Video of Orange Beach City Council Meeting from November 11, 2020

Details about Chandler Rayborn's heroic actions start at 16:35 in the video below.