AWARD RECIPIENTS
Integrated Community Safety Award: BCAS & Fire Rescue: PCP Alex Mattes, ACP Will Riordon, Capt. John McCaffrey, F/Fs Raminder Gill, James Beeby and Todd Stockdale On Sept. 20 2013, crews responded to a motor vehicle incident involving an SUV and a motorcycle.
Crews responding were paramedics Alex Mattes and advanced care paramedic Will Riordon as well as fire captain John McCaffrey and crew firefighters Raminder Gill, James Beeby and Todd Stockdale.
Upon arrival, the motorcycle was barely recognizable. The rider lay 25 yards from his bike, face down.
Without wasting any time, paramedics packaged the motorcyclist on a spine board with the integral assistance of the fire crew for rapid transport.
Once they had the patient on the stretcher and in the back of the ambulance, paramedics were able to do a better assessment and find further injuries - this patient had bones protruding in multiple places and was in respiratory distress.
Without hesitation, McCaffrey volunteered two of his men to go with paramedics to VGH, ensuring the best possible care for the injured patient, whose mangled arms and legs had to be held in place by firefighters during the ride. to the hospital.
Community Safety Volunteer of the Year:
ACP Jeff Watts, Retired High School First Responder Program For over five years, retired advanced care paramedic Jeff Watts Jeff Watts won the Community Safety Volunteer Award. Photo by Gord Goble/Special to the News has developed and run a high school first responder program in the City of Richmond.
Watts volunteers his time educating and instructing Richmond High School students in emergency first aid.
The students under Watts' supervision are a valuable asset to our city where they volunteer their time at many community events such as the Salmon Festival and Ships to Shore, assisting as needed, providing first aid to spectators and visitors until appropriate medical services arrive.
Thanks to the dedication and hard work of Watts, the students will have a lifelong skill that makes our community safer and could one day save a life.
Community Safety Initiative of the Year: PAD Program: PCP Lawrence Cheng, PCP Roger Mah, ACP Kathy Pascuzzo, PCP Allen Pruden The BC Public Access to Defibrillation (PAD) Program is a joint initiative of the BC Ambulance Service and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Its goal is to have more than 450 AEDs installed and available for use by the general public by 2015.
Over the past 20 years, AEDs have become prevalent in society, however access is often limited.
The goal of the BC PAD Program is to have each AED clearly marked, easily accessible and most importantly available 24/7 - by any member of the general public.
BCAS paramedics who volunteer their off-duty time with this program are known as PAD Champions.
They provide public education on how to correctly use and maintain AEDs and are a vital support resource for when the use of an AED is required.
The citizens of Richmond and all those who visit our great city are made safer by the efforts volunteered by this group of dedicated community-minded
Fire Rescue Crew or Firefighter of the Year: On February 12, 2013 there was a house fire on Azure Rd. Acting Captain of Investigations Alex van Bruksvoort was called to the incident to conduct the fire investigation.
In order for the crews to fully extinguish the fire and for the investigation to occur, the home needed to be taken down.
However, the owner was distraught over the many sentimental items still in the home and had a difficult time making the decision allowing the demolition.
Alex recognized the owner's state and realized he had to spend time to help her and her family understand.
Alex displayed compassion and made a
sincere connection. He committed to her that he would manage the demolition and try to uncover those sentimental items.
In cooperation with the demolition company, Alex was able to uncover a few of the items and his efforts demonstrated excellent service that went above and beyond normal business.
Ambulance Crew or Ambulance Paramedic of the Year:
On Dec 7, 2013 Advanced Care Paramedics Ron van Houtten and Steve Hurley responded to a restaurant at Lansdowne Centre.
Upon arrival at the patient's side, a young woman in her 30s was collapsed on the floor of the mall and being cared for by the firefighters.
A quick visual assessment of the patient revealed that she was suffering from severe anaphylactic shock - quickly becoming lifethreatening.
A rapid assessment was done, showing the patient had no palpable pulses and no blood pressure; her mouth had swollen making breathing laboured and communication impossible. Epinephrine was administered three times with little to no improvement. IV access was made difficult due to vascular collapse. Finally, IV access was established and fluid was administered to bolster her blood pressure and additionally epinephrine was given via the IV, at last improving her symptoms.
Community Safety Award of Valor Recipients: Three residents were Community Safety Award of Valor recipients.
The first was Mohammad Kallas who, last year, on a busy afternoon in downtown Richmond witnessed a theft from an electronics store on No. 3 Road. The suspect quickly fled with stolen items in hand.
Kallas was the passenger in a vehicle when he noticed the suspected thief, who appeared to be getting away, while being chased by a store employee.
Kallas gave chase into a back parking lot where he cornered the suspect. The suspect dropped the stolen goods and tried to get away but Kallas was able to subdue the him.
Despite wearing flip flops Kallas kept the suspect secure as he walked him back to the store where the shop owner called the police.
Meanwhile, David MacGyver and Lawrence Layton were both involved in subduing two males toting weapons who robbed the Ben Moss Jewelry store at Richmond Centre. MacGyver and Layton were both inside the mall when the robbery occurred and followed the suspects as they attempted to make their escape, despite one of the suspects pointing a firearm directly at Layton.
Once outside the mall, the suspect attempted to carjack a vehicle from a lone woman. MacGyver jumped into action and was able to take the firearm away from the suspect.
Layton saw this and jumped in to help by securing the firearm and assisted in restraining the suspect until police arrived.
During the struggle, the suspect discharged one round. As a result of the bravery of MacGyver and Layton, no persons were seriously injured.
Community Safety Business Partner Recipient: Scott McTavish, Coast Mountain Bus Company /Richmond Depot Operations manager Scott McTavish and his fellow employees at the Coast Mountain Bus Company -Richmond Depot have gone above and beyond to provide assistance to RCMP and Richmond Fire Rescue. Coast Mountain always responds promptly, providing buses and drivers at a moment's notice for people in need at fires, plane crashes, chemical leaks and other emergency situations.
In the last two years, the Coast Mountain Bus Company has supplied 7 busses that temporarily sheltered over 140 people at many fire emergency scenes. With their help, many Richmond residents were provided short term shelter from the elements in their critical time of need.
When an RCMP member was killed in the line of duty, dozens of police officers from Richmond Detachment took personal time to attend. Scott McTavish immediately authorized a transit bus to take Richmond members to the service and back, going above and beyond to support the bereaved officers.
Coast Guard Crew, Member or Auxiliary of the Year:
Leading Seaman/Public Safety Diver: Dave Schur, Mike Hawley and Gary Nolan On the night of Dec. 20, 2013 a passerby heard a man's voice calling for help downstream from the Knight Street Bridge.
Police arrived in the area quickly and were able to hear the man's voice weaken but were unable to spot him in the darkness. The Coast Guard's rigid hull inflatable was dispatched and arrived in the area 12 minutes later.
Coxswain Dave Schur and Leading Seamen Mike Hawley and Gary Nolan shut down the engines on arrival.
Several minutes later, they were fortunately able to hear a faint moan, and then silence.
Knowing they were very close, the team employed their spotlight and, with meticulous sweeping of the foreshore and log booms, were able to spot the man.
He was in a precarious position, hypothermic and in danger of being swept under the boom, to which he was clinging, by the current. BCAS were standing by on shore.
Thanks to the hard work of all teams involved, the man lived to see another day.
Community Safety Career Achievement Award Recipients British Columbia Ambulance Service -ACP Terry Dobson, ACP (Retired): Terry Dobson started his ambulance career in 1974 and spent most of his 38 year career as a full-time paramedic in Richmond.
He started out as a BLS paramedic and in 1981 went on to become an ALS paramedic which is the level he is at today.
During his time with the BC Ambulance Service, Terry volunteered around Richmond at school functions and with other events where he proudly promoted safety. One of his career highlights was when Terry instructed in a local high school CPR program which had all Grade 11 students in Richmond trained in CPR.
Terry is a truly dedicated employee that gave everything he could to a job and community that he loves. Terry loves his job so much that he came back to work part-time after retirement. His dedication to his work and team are unparalleled, and Terry is very deserving of this recognition.
Richmond Fire Rescue - Capt. Doug Scott: Doug Scott's positive attitude and commitment to the job, the community and his peers is second to none.
He always has a smile on his face and does what is right in every situation he is in. He has very high standards for himself and those around him. He never takes his career for granted and he knows what it means to serve the community.
He also has the respect and admiration of everyone that works with him, and this is caused by his consistency, fairness, respect for others, and pride in what he does.
Canadian Coast Guard - Chief Engineer Scott Thomas: Chief Engineer Scott Thomas has devoted his entire working life to improving hovercraft technology.
Scott's main strength is in the electrical area and in fact many of his engineering solutions have been adopted by other operators.
Scott began his career with Bell Aerospace in 1973 as a hovercraft engineer apprentice. After spending 6 years with Bell Aerospace, Scott took his first job with the Coast Guard in Trois Rivieres (Twa Riv-ee-air), Quebec.
After 10 years, an opportunity in Richmond beckoned and Scott uprooted his young family and joined the Sea Island base in 1989.
Scott made the transition from working on gas turbines to diesels seamlessly and after two decades of hard work, Scott became chief in 2008.
His personality, patience and affable disposition will be always be remembered at Sea Island after he retires this fall.....especially at Christmas when someone for the Santa suit is required.
British Columbia Ambulance Service-Clarke McGuire, ACP (Retired): Clarke McGuire has over 39 years of field experience, spending more than half of that time as acting unit chief. Also, during his outstanding career, Clarke dedicated over three decades to community service, raising money for causes such as Nova House, assisting with emergency planning and even contributing to modifications of laws concerning safety in the elevators of new buildings.
Clarke has had a major impact within his field, co-writing a medical paper with a doctor from Japan, combining knowledge and expertise from within Canada and Japan. More locally, Clark was the author of the BCAS "Regional Emergency Response Plan."
Over the course of his career, Clarke has received three major awards and even two previous 911 Awards. Highlights include the RCMP Commissioners Commendation for Bravery, an Exemplary Service Medal, and a Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal.
For a distinguished career invested deeply in the safety and well-being of Canadians, Clarke McGuire is nominated for this career achievement award.
