It’s not unknown that Patrick Britton jumped into action during the devastating flooding of Tropical Storm Harvey, working 36 hours straight — 15 of those doing boat rescues.

Britton, a sergeant with the Port Arthur Police Department, saw those that were rescued moved to dump trucks and to higher ground at shelters around Port Arthur and neighboring cities. But the story didn’t end there.

Once evacuees were safely in shelters he took on the role of incident command and was stationed at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and later at the temporary “tent city” shelters set up in the parking lot of the Robert A. “Bob” Bowers Civic Center working as a liaison for the city with Baptist Children and Family Services, or BCFS.

“All of the efforts I did was me mirroring what other first responders and residents did at that time,” Britton said.

The Port Arthur News told his story in our Harvey’s Heroes series along with that of many others who went above and beyond. Britton’s story caught the attention of not one but two major organizations and he was honored for his tireless efforts as one of the 2018 Ford Freedom Unsung “Heroes of Harvey” award recipients and the 4040 Harvey’s Heroes recognizing Houston’s next generation of leaders.

In addition he received a White House Congressional Commendation.

Britton didn’t know about the Ford Motor Co. honor until not long before the event which he described as a “red carpet-like” event. While there he met Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, U.S. Rep. Borris Miles, as well as athletes and other professionals. While Britton is a native Port Arthuran, he was the only Port Arthuran named in the ceremony.

“Of the 25 award recipients I was the only police officer and only person from Port Arthur; everyone else was from Houston,” he said.

But Britton isn’t claiming all of the glory for his heroics even though he was the sole operator of the shelter, took part in numerous hours of water rescues, then the shelter work and later as incident command.

“I was asked how does this makes me feel. It’s very humbling and it represents the hard work of everybody in Port Arthur,” he said. “This award and recognition is for Port Arthur, not for Sgt. Patrick Britton. It just came to me by way of hands for the entire city of Port Arthur.”

The Ford Freedom unsung Heroes of Harvey celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions in their community during the hurricane relief efforts, according to a Ford Motor Co. press release.

Made possible by a grant from Ford Motor Co. Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Co., Ford Freedom “Unsung” salutes and honors individuals who went above and beyond to support the community during this difficult time. Residents of the Greater Houston Area were invited to nominate unsung heroes who demonstrated heroic deeds during the relief efforts.

“In the face of tremendous difficulty, Houstonians came together to support each other and their community,” Pamela Alexander, director of Community Development, Ford Motor Co. Fund, said. “We congratulate the winners and are proud to honor their selfless acts.”

Harvey flooding aside, Britton had a memorable 2017. In June, while at the rank of detective, he was named Officer of the Year. The city of Port Arthur honored him proclaiming June 20 as Det. Patrick Britton Day. He was later promoted to the rank of sergeant.

PAPD Chief Patrick Melvin said he is proud of his team and all of the work they did and do.

“As the chief of police, I am proud of all of my department employees and consider them all PAPD Harvey Storm/Hurricane heroes,” Melvin said. “We had plenty of personnel that went beyond the call of duty during the storm both prior to and post incident.

“We are especially appreciative of those in our community who choose to recognize our heroes who protect and serve our community daily.”