ALBANY, NY - Correction Officer Carl Hillman was on his rounds at the Elmira Correctional Facility last year when he grew suspicious because the door to a prison counselor's office had been closed during a meeting with an inmate.

When Hillman opened the door to check, he found the female counselor beaten unconscious by the inmate. He jumped over the desk, chased off the attacker and called for help that saved the victim from more serious injury.

On Thursday, Hillman, 47, was one of four state Department of Correctional Services staffers awarded the department's Medals of Merit, presented each year to employees who have displayed singular courage and outstanding service in the line of duty.

"This award is very much an honor," said Hillman. "It was a tragic day but it came out on a positive note."

Hillman said incidents such as the counselor's assault make him and his co-workers more aware of what is going on in their work place.

The three others were honored for two separate incidents involving the rescues of people from burning vehicles.

Randall Calhoun, 41, a correction officer at Auburn Correctional Facility, pulled an unconscious 17-year-old driver from his flaming vehicle in March 2005 and revived him, saving the teenager's life.

Sergeant Randy Bedore, 42, and Correction Officer Bobbi Jo Facteau, 35, showed similar heroism when they drove up to the scene of a three-vehicle wreck in May 2005 and found a driver trapped inside a vehicle that was smoking and leaking gasoline. The two had been taking part in a training exercise at the time of their discovery.

They pulled the driver free and waited for emergency crews to arrive.

"It's a great honor," said Facteau. "At the time I was more concerned about the victim than anything else."

Facteau is a 12 year veteran of the department. Facteau and Bedore are both employed at the Adirondack Correction Facility.

"Today we pay tribute to our fallen heroes and honor those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty," said Department of Correction Commissioner Glen Goord.

Alton Hutchinson was the inmate Hillman encountered during the January 2005 attack on the female counselor. The 36-year-old inmate was convicted in October on a second-degree assault charge and acquitted of first-degree assault and attempted rape charges.

Survivors and hostages of the 1971 Attica riot also attended the ceremony, along with survivors of 35 employees who have died in the line of duty as the result of inmate actions. The awards ceremony also included a memorial service for those employees.

Since the awards program began in 1984, there have been 88 medals of merit presented. The department currently employs about 30,000 people at 69 facilities across the state.