Task Force 10 Recognized at Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
LAFD Spokesperson: Nicholas Prange
Task Force 10 being honored at the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting.
Photo Credits:
Alex GillmanLos Angeles-
Firefighters are known for their bravery and quick problem solving ability. They are expected to deal with all types of emergencies and disasters at unexpected times. Sometimes, they will encounter emergencies, while traveling to and from their fire stations.
On a Thanksgiving Day in 2018, a L.A.F.D. Paramedic Rescue Ambulance had transported an elderly woman to an Emergency Room of a Los Angeles Hospital... Coincidentally, this Hospital was undergoing a re-model.
Suddenly, while getting ready for their next emergency dispatch, these Firefighter / Paramedics came upon an emergency inside the very Emergency Room they were in. A construction worker was working in the concealed attic space above them and he was electrocuted. One of the Paramedic Team members without hesitation made a quick assessment for his personal safety and went up into the attic space to find a person in cardiac arrest. At great risk to himself he crawled in and lowered that worker down to a waiting ER team below that was able to resuscitate him.Also due to the electrical hazard that existed, all power was cut to the Emergency Department while building engineers determined the cause of the electrocution and isolated its source. An LAFD team arrived to supply electricity to the Emergency Department, while the Hospital enacted their emergency power supply plan. Our LAFD team supplied lighting and power to their life saving equipment.
Thanks to the actions of one heroic Firefighter / Paramedic and an entire team of LAFD Firefighters and Paramedics that responded that afternoon, no unexpected loss of life happened at that hospital on that Thanksgiving Day.
The LAFD Administration would like to recognize the following LAFD Firefighters / Paramedics for performing their duties so well every day and especially well on one Thanksgiving Day in 2018 in particular:
•Firefighter III / Paramedic, Derek S. Cook,
•Captain II, Eric L. Thompson
•Captain I, Michael T. Coffey
•Apparatus Operator, Michael E. Pagliuso
•Engineer, Warren B. Worcester
•Engineer, Daniel B. Johnson
•Firefighter III / Paramedic, Blake W. Pearson
•Firefighter III, Kyle J. Cawdrey
•Firefighter III, Diego P. Gutierrez
•Firefighter III, Tyler J. Elmore
•Firefighter III, Antonio M. Barassi
•Firefighter III, Matthew Lacount
•Firefighter III, Jose A. Davalos
We want to especially highlight one Firefighter / Paramedic who heroically risked his life to save an electrocuted worker. Thanks to his quick and bravery, this worker was able to walk out of the hospital weeks later.
