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Two Sun City West residents and a fire engine crew were honored for their recent rescue effort when a car crashed into a pond, trapping two people.
The crew of Engine 103 received Crew/Firefighters of the Year Awards, Oct. 24. Mr. House and Mr. Taber received Civilian Service Awards the same date in recognition of their efforts.
Kevin House, Sun City West resident and employee of Fry’s Grocery, 19403 N. R. H. Johnson Blvd., was on a break late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 1, when he heard a loud crash. He soon determined a car had crashed through a block wall in the parking lot, and after investigating saw the vehicle had continued about 75 feet and was submerged in the pond at the Hillcrest Golf Club, 20002 N. Star Ridge Drive.
Mr. House, who moved to Sun City West about a year ago from Binghamton, New York, where he was a dispatcher for a security company, used his two-way radio to notify store management to call 911.
Another Fry’s employee, Bryan Taber, entered the pond. He was unable to enter the vehicle but worked to keep it partially afloat until fire rescuers arrived.
The crew from Arizona Fire & Medical Authority Engine 101, 19001 N. Camino del Sol, responded to the call with three crew members aboard. There are usually four people assigned to the unit, but one firefighter had taken the department’s rehabilitation unit to a large fire in Phoenix.
Richard Mixer, engineer/paramedic, was acting captain on the call. While responding to the scene he discussed a plan of action with Robert Gallegos, engineer, and Jasmine Boisvert, firefighter/paramedic.
As they were responding they were getting updated information on their communication screens, including the fact the vehicle was submerged and had people trapped.
Water rescues are something emergency crews in Sun City West don’t do often, Mr. Mixer said, but they do practice their action plans for such situations at least annually.
As the fire crew arrived, Mr. House flagged them to the scene and directed other vehicles away from the scene to give the fire apparatus room to maneuver.
“I did what I thought was right,” Mr. House said.
Mr. Mixer said when they arrived there was an air bubble in the back of the car and the two victims had moved to that area. Mr. Taber had tried to get into the car earlier and couldn’t.
Following their standard protocol, they established a safety officer procedure, secured a rope to the shore, had one person in the water part way to the vehicle to assist in transferring victims to shore and two others went directly to the vehicle.
Engineer Gallegos used a special tool to break the class. This gave rescuers the ability to get into the vehicle, but the air bubble was disrupted, and the vehicle immediately submerged.
Mr. Gallegos then entered the vehicle and was able to pull out the passenger and began moving her to shore.
Firefighter Boisvert entered the vehicle through the rear window and locate the driver even though there was no visibility. The driver was disoriented and briefly struggled with Ms. Boisvert, but she was able to get him out of the vehicle.
When pulled from the vehicle Ms. Boisvert observed the driver was in cardiac arrest and moved him quickly to the shore where colleagues began resuscitation efforts.
Additional resources began arriving, the driver’s care was transferred to the crew of Engine 103 and then Medic 101 which transferred him to the hospital. He was later pronounced dead.
The crew of Engine 101 was assisted by the crew of Surprise Ladder 305 in caring for the passenger, who suffered minor injuries.
“To me, the two people who did the work are the engineer and firefighter,” Mr. Mixer said. “They did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
From the time of the first call until both residents were rescued and on the bank took less than eight minutes, according to an AFMA spokesman.
“The crew of Engine 101 exhibited a selfless willingness to do what was necessary to attempt the rescue of these trapped individuals,” said Rob Helie, AFMA deputy chief.
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