Deputy Brian Erbe

Deputy Brian Erbe was awarded the Bronze Medal for his actions on the night of 
October 31, 2004.  While working as a Patrol Deputy, he heard that a vehicle fire
had been reported in the area of Freedom Boulevard and Corralitos Road in Watsonville. 
Although the Sheriff's Office was not dispatched to respond, Deputy Erbe elected to go to
the call.  When he could not immediately locate the incident, he used his knowledge of the
area to locate the scene of the single car vehicle accident on Varni Road.

When he arrived at the accident scene, he learned that only two of the three occupants 
had been removed from the vehicle engulfed in flames.  He retrieved a fire extinguisher 
and attempted to quell the flames to save the 17 year old victim.  Tragically, the victim 
died in the fire and it was not until later that it was determined that she could not have 
been removed from the vehicle without specialized rescue equipment.