Heroes save lives, prevent tragedy
Published: May 5, 2005
Nine heroes and four heroic groups will be honored by the Mount Rainier chapter of the American Red Cross this morning in addition to 9-1-1 dispatch hero Cody Roberts of Olympia.
Here are their stories:
- Department of Corrections employees were named Workplace Safety Heroes for helping a collapsed co-worker.
Doug Hasselbach was found unconscious, not breathing and turning blue May 25 near his office at the state Department of Corrections headquarters in downtown Olympia.
A group effort began to save his life. While one staff member took his pulse, another called 9-1-1. Several co-workers turned him over, and someone else ran for the first-aid kit. Those trained in first aid and CPR stepped forward to provide aid.
Several staff members directed medics to the scene and provided information, while another ran to notify Hasselbach’s wife.
Despite the heroic efforts, Hasselbach didn’t survive. Medics reported that they rarely have witnessed a more organized lifesaving effort.
Corrections staff involved included Ranae Cooper, Kris Geringer, Lydia Haelle, Morgan Lee, Kimberly Pearson, Lynn Scott, Virginia Shamburg, Paula Terrell, Casey Thornton and Tracy Wade.
- Keystone Crisis Nursery was named an Olympia Community Partner Hero for aiding about 200 families by providing access to child care during emergencies.
Keystone aims to prevent child abuse and neglect by encouraging parents to get help before a crisis occurs. Keystone helps parents who have nowhere else to turn during a medical emergency or when fleeing a domestic violence situation. Organizers also provide a safe place for children when their parents have a job interview or need to take care of a legal issue.
Keystone recently helped a young mother suffering from postpartum depression with child care, so she could find a house and schedule therapy sessions. In another case, Keystone helped a grandmother caring for her grandchild get rest after chemotherapy treatments.
- Mark Noble of Olympia was posthumously named a Legacy Hero for his lifesaving efforts in protecting firefighters locally and nationally.
Noble, 47, died in January of brain cancer, which his doctors attributed to long-term exposure to carcinogens from years of fighting fires. His death was considered Olympia’s first in the line of duty.
Noble’s career began before firefighters routinely wore breathing filters. After his diagnosis in May 2002, Noble began promoting precautions against breathing toxins and appeared in an educational video available nationwide on the cancer risks posed by firefighting.
The Olympia Fire Department, with help from the Civic Foundation and the Washington State Council of Firefighters, will distribute the video to every fire department in Washington.
- Brad Kelley of Lacey, a soldier stationed at Fort Lewis, was named a Military Hero for saving a fellow soldier while serving in Iraq.
On Sept. 29, Sgt. 1st Class Kelley was nearing the end of his tour of duty when an improvised explosive hit his armored personnel carrier.
Kelley’s first reaction was to make sure everyone was OK. One soldier did not respond.
He quickly rushed to the hatch to find that the explosion had cut the fuel and hydraulic lines, starting a fire. Within minutes, smoke and fire had spread through the driver’s compartment. He immediately moved to the driver’s hatch and pulled the injured soldier from the wreckage.
After ensuring the rest of his soldiers made it out, Kelley and his team ran back to the burning vehicle to retrieve as much of the equipment, radios and ammunition as possible. If the ammunition had caught fire and exploded, it would have caused additional injuries.
- Jessica Jang of Lacey was named the Spirit of the Red Cross Hero for raising money to benefit tsunami victims.
After watching stories about tsunami victims on the news, 9-year-old Jang was compelled to take action on a personal and individual level.
She organized a giant garage sale with friends Emily, Preston, Jenna, Zach, Dalton and Candice. The “Garage Sale for the Waves” raised $1,658.97 to support American Red Cross tsunami relief efforts. Most items sold for about $1.
“Whenever you hear about bad things that happen, like the tsunami, I’ve always wanted to help but never really actually did it,” Jessica said. “Now that I have, doing a big project like this is much harder than you think. But, in the end, all the hard work was worth it.”
- Ryan Russell of Lacey was named a Law Enforcement Hero for saving a woman from a burning building.
Russell, a sheriff’s deputy, received a report of a house fire near Yelm. Upon his arrival, Russell saw a trailer on fire, with black smoke and flames billowing from the doors and windows. He talked to the homeowner, who had just arrived at the scene, and learned that the man’s wife was inside.
He peered through the doorway and couldn’t see anyone through the thick smoke. He ran toward the back of the trailer and saw the woman unconscious and unresponsive through a small window. He returned to the front door, braving considerable heat and smoke, and brought the woman to safety.
- Littlerock Fire Rescue members were named Animal Rescue Heroes for saving a horse.
On Feb. 29, 2004, a call came to the volunteer rescue team that a 30-year-old horse was stuck in the mud on its side. In order to avoid serious respiratory complications, the distressed animal needed to be uprighted immediately.
Heavy equipment was required. Members of the rescue team placed blankets around the horse to keep it warm. While calming the animal, they began to shift the horse’s weight to help it stand. With 10 to 20 people assisting, the horse was brought to its feet.
Rescuers were Tom Berryman, Tom Culleton, Tom Fitzgerald, Ken Frasl, Blake Kaleiwahea, Alex Kalmikov, Cheryl Krouse, George Krouse, Kathy Manor, John Ridgeway and Gary Stone.
- Reinhard Friesl and Rita and Angela Brengan of Olympia were named Fire Safety Heroes for saving lives during a fire at the Olympia Apartments.
Friesl, the building maintenance worker, awoke Aug. 15 to the sound of fire alarms. He rushed to the fire alarm and found indicator lights flashing on the sixth floor.
He ran upstairs and found smoke filling the hallway. He saw resident Tom Seefeld emerging from his apartment in his wheelchair. Friesl pushed Seefeld through dense smoke to the elevator and sent him down below to safety. He then returned to the hallway and helped eight other residents use the fire escape. His attempts to get the residents out of the apartment where the fire started were unsuccessful.
Rita Brengan, the apartment manager’s mother, was awakened by her granddaughter, Angela. Together, they helped other residents evacuate.
- Heather Parker and Trace Strickland of Shelton were named Humanitarian Adult Heroes for helping victims in an auto accident.
On Feb. 7, Parker and Strickland were driving south in separate vehicles on U.S. Highway 101. As they approached the Shelton-Matlock Road interchange, they watched in horror as an approaching northbound vehicle lost control on an icy overpass, crossed into their lane and collided with the vehicle in front of theirs.
Both pulled to the side of the road, and Parker called 9-1-1. They went up to the collision and found a young boy on the shoulder who had been thrown from one of the vehicles.
Parker checked to see if the boy was breathing. He wasn’t, and she was unable to detect a pulse. Without hesitation, she began chest compressions, then breaths of air while Strickland, also trained in first aid, took over on the chest compressions. They continued until medics arrived and took over.
Though the boy did not survive because of fatal injuries from the collision, Parker and Strickland kept their heads and helped a family in a horrible situation.
- Lon Bickler of Enumclaw and Lloyd Long of Aberdeen were named Medical Rescue Heroes for saving a man on the side of the road.
On April 13, 2004, Bickler and Long were traveling near Brinnon as members of the Bonneville Power Association’s Olympia line crew.
As they passed a tractor-trailer, they saw a man on the ground.
While Bickler checked the victim’s breathing and pulse, Long called 9-1-1 on his cell phone.
Long remembered that they had a defibrillator in the vehicle, and they were advised to use it. They continued CPR until a medic helicopter arrived to take the man to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
- Jayson Haury of Olympia was named Humanitarian Youth Hero for saving his best friend, Adam Peters, from drowning last summer.
Jayson and Adam were playing and having fun in the pool. They were swimming back and forth when Adam started having trouble. Jayson, who was only 5 years old, saw him struggling to stay afloat in the deep end.
Remembering what he had learned during swimming lessons, Jayson recognized the signs and calmly reached for Adam’s hand. He offered Adam one of the extra flotation devices and helped him swim to safety.
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