Firehouse Magazine Rescue Award Winners for 2002
These winners were recognized in the April, 2003 Issue of Firehouse Magazine.
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Page 6
| Watkins, Herman R. | Columbus, OH FD | Burlee, David | Rochester NY FD | Powers, Daniel W. | FDNY |
| Watkins, Mark W. | Columbus, OH FD | Holt, Lawrence C. | Boston FD | Reith, Eric V. | Prince George's County MD FD |
| Best, Michael D. | Columbus, OH FD | Negron, Sammy | Beaufort SC FD | ||
| Simpson, Steven E. | Columbus, OH FD | Thompson, John | Beaufort SC FD |
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Off duty
Firefighter Herman R. Watkins was stopped at a street intersection when he
saw a man stabbing a woman on a nearby sidewalk.
Watkins left his car and advanced to within about 15 feet of the
man, shouting for him to stop. The
man ran into a nearby apartment. Watkins called 911 on his cell phone and
began first aid on the victim. A
few minutes later the assailant, still holding a 12 inch long knife, left
the apartment. Watkins
followed him down an alley and behind a building while still on the phone
with the 911 operator. He
provided an exact location for the assailant, and police arrested him a
few minutes later. The woman
died on the scene. |
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Herman R.
Watkins Engine 17 Columbus, OH, FD $100 Award |
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While off-duty, Firefighter Mark W. Watkins came across a serious head on motor vehicle accident with six trauma victims. He crawled into the car, which was leaking gas and positioned on a hillside, and stabilized one victim until the arrival of medic units. He then assisted with the treatment of all six victims and helped to prepare them for transportation to a trauma center. |
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Mark W. Watkins Ladder 15 Columbus, OH FD $100 Award |
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Michael D. Best Engine 7 Honorable Mention |
Steven E. Simpson Ladder 2 Honorable Mention |
Columbus, OH FD |
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On the
afternoon of August 17, 2002 a couple and their three children were
traveling on I-71. The
family’s mother developed a pulmonary embolism and had a subsequent
cardiac arrest. The father, who
was a registered nurse, stopped the car, extricated his wife, and began CPR.
His son called 911. Two
off duty firefighters, Lieutenant Steven Simpson, Ladder 2, and Firefighter
Michael Best, Engine 7, stopped to assist.
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They assisted with CPR and calmed the children until the arrival of medical units. Best and Stevens visited the woman during her hospital stay and remained in close contact with the family. After 17 days in the hospital she returned home. |
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In
the late evening of May 31, 2002 Quint 6 responded to a call for a
pedestrian struck and trapped under a car. While responding they were
notified of a civil disturbance taking place at the same location. A two
year old girl crossing the street with her grandmother had been struck by
a car and propelled under another vehicle, wedging her head and torso
between the car and the pavement. Upon their arrival they worked their way
through a panicking and very vocal crowd of bystanders.
Lieutenant David Burlee laid down to look under the low riding vehicle. As he did so the vehicle rose three feet into the air as the crowd had taken it upon themselves to initiate a rescue. This action forced Burlee to act quickly and decisively before the car came crashing back onto the child. Instructing another firefighter to coordinate the bystanders holding the car, he crawled under to provide spinal stabilization to the little girl. He then ordered another firefighter to assist him in dragging the child clear of the car to a team of firefighters set up to provide emergency medical care. Within seven minutes of their arrival Burlee and his crew had secured the scene, extricated and packaged the victim, provided life saving medical care and loaded her in the ambulance. The girl survived her injuries. |
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David
Burlee Quint 6 Rochester, NY, FD Honorable Mention |
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On June 13, 2002, while off duty and dining at a restaurant in Alton, New Hampshire, Firefighter Lawrence C. Holt, Rescue Company 1, assisted a woman who was unable to breathe as a result of food lodged in her throat. He dislodged the food and the woman began breathing normally.
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Lawrence
C. Holt Rescue 1 Boston FD Honorable Mention |
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Sammy Negron Honorable Mention |
John Thompson Honorable Mention |
Beaufort SC, Fire/Rescue |
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On Sunday December 22, 2002 just after 3:30pm, acting Lieutenant John Thompson was riding as a passenger in the department squad vehicle, performing daily administrative tasks, when he noticed another vehicle pull along side with the male driver waving frantically for them to stop. Thompson directed the driver of the squad, Firefighter Sammy Negron, to pull into the median and went to investigate. Thompson quickly discovered a female passenger holding her nine day old infant son, who was limp and cyanotic. The mother thrust the child into Thompson's hands. Thompson dashed back to the squad vehicle to assess the child, and found him to be without a pulse. |
Negron, an off duty emergency room technician, recommended that they drive directly to the hospital instead of calling for a medical unit. Thompson agreed, and began CPR and basic life support procedures in the front seat of the squad while enroute to the hospital's emergency room, where he turned the child over to the waiting staff. The child briefly regained consciousness before the firefighters left the hospital. The child survived and was discharged from the hospital within weeks of the incident. |
| No Picture |
Firefighter Daniel W. Powers, a member of Engine 250, was detailed on this day to Ladder 147. Ladder 147 arrived with several other units to a fully involved multi story wood frame house. Two engine companies were able with great difficulty to attack the fire on the second floor, allowing the crew of Ladder 147 to climb the stairs to the third floor and make a primary search. The third floor was filled with smoke and intense heat. Fire was in the walls and the attic space above. They had no hose lines. Lieutenant
Farragher had his crew split up to search as quickly as possible for
victims. Powers crawled on
his stomach into a front bedroom, directly above the fire raging below
him. In zero visibility he
began sweeping the area with his arm. Deep into the room he found the body of a sixteen-year-old
girl. Lacking a radio he
yelled for help but no one heard him.
Powers used all of his remaining strength to drag the girl from the
room to the hall. At this
point a firefighter helped Powers to carry the girl down the stairs to the
street. The girl did not
survive her injuries. |
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Daniel W.
Powers Ladder 147 FDNY Brooklyn, NY Honorable Mention |
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While
securing a patient at Fort Washington Hospital, Emegency Response
Technician Eric V. Reith heard over the radio that a 15 year old high
school student had collapsed on a football field and was in full cardiac
arrest. Reith grabbed
advanced life support equipment from his medic unit at the hospital and
made arrangements to meet the ambulance at the football field while they
were driving to the hospital.
Reith
jumped from an ambulance into the ambulance with the victim.
He defibrillated the victim twice, inserted a breathing tube,
started an IV, and administered Epinephrine.
Within seconds of arriving in the emergency room the boy’s pulse
and respiration were restored. The
boy survived
his attack and received a heart pacemaker.
He made a full recovery. |
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Eric V.
Reith Prince George's County, MD FD $100 Award |
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