Obermiller named East Hawaii Officer of Month

The Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii on Thursday honored Officer Jacob Obermiller as the East Hawaii Officer of the Month for July.

Obermiller was honored for the June 29 rescue of a man who set himself on fire at the Waiakea Villas in Hilo.

When officers arrived, they found the man who had doused himself and the apartment unit floor with a flammable liquid, and set the floor on fire. The man also doused officers with the liquid to keep them away.

The man then fell onto the floor, catching on fire, and then ran out of the unit, police said.

Obermiller found a fire extinguisher in the hallway and put out the flames on the burning man.

The man sustained second- and third-degree burns to his face and upper body and required treatment at an Oahu hospital.