BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue’s commissioners and staff had a lot to celebrate during the board’s Nov. 19 meeting with two new firefighters sworn in, three promotions and two Phoenix Awards handed out.
First on the agenda was the oath which was given to new hires firefighters Aaron Reese and David Stark. Reese is working to finish paramedic school in December while Stark comes to WMFR from Manatee County Emergency Management Services.
Firefighters Aaron Reese and David Stark take their oaths as West Manatee firefighters. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Firefighter Tyler MacDonald was promoted for the rank of lieutenant but was absent from the meeting. He will officially be promoted during the district’s January board meeting.
Also promoted was firefighter Clayton Lease who was promoted to the rank of firefighter third class.
More than a month after he started the job, firefighter Jay Johnson was officially promoted to the position of administrative battalion chief, serving as the right hand of new Chief Ben Rigney. Johnson’s family was on-hand to help celebrate the promotion and his father had the honor of pinning his son with his new badge.
Firefighter Clayton Lease is promoted to firefighter third class. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Two Phoenix Awards also were handed out to firefighter/paramedics Zachary Benshoff and Cameron Frazier.
WMFR gives Phoenix Awards to first responders who respond to a cardiac arrest call where the patient is brought back from the brink of death and is able to leave the hospital under their own power. Johnson and Rigney presented the awards.
Benshoff and Frazier earned this Phoenix Award after responding to a drowning call on Sept. 21 with two of their fellow firefighters, Corey Hill and Capt. Buddy Leigh.
Johnson said that when the WMFR team arrived, CPR was already being conducted by marine rescue personnel and a bystander. The WMFR paramedics took over patient care using their medic training and the district’s non-transport advanced lifesaving equipment and were able to keep the patient alive until an EMS transport unit arrive four minutes later. The patient was able to leave the hospital on Sept. 30.
Battalion Chief Jay Johnson addresses commissioners just moments after being officially promoted to administrative battalion chief. – Kristin Swain | Sun
For a patient who needs CPR, Johnson said their chances of survival drop 10% every minute without patient care. By WMFR’s paramedic trained firefighters arriving on-scene four minutes ahead of EMS, he said it increased the drowning victim’s survival rate by 40%.
“That’s huge,” Johnson said of the rescue efforts. “That’s why we’re here and we’re just so proud of you.”
BRADENTON – Aug. 20 was a celebration of life at West Manatee Fire Rescue’s board meeting as district leaders handed out three sets of Phoenix Awards to first responders.
The district gives out Phoenix Awards to first responders with the district who respond to a medical call where the patient doesn’t have a heartbeat either on arrival or at any point during the call, the patient is revived and is eventually discharged from the hospital. In August, Battalion Chief Ryan Moore presented responders from three separate calls with Phoenix Awards.
“These are my favorite awards to give because they’re truly life-changing for the people we respond to,” Moore said.
The first call involved an April call to a Mangrove Point residence where a female patient was found unresponsive. The crew, Lt. Chad Brunner, firefighter John Balzer and firefighter Tyler McDonald, gave the patient CPR until an EMS crew arrived to take over patient care. The patient was able to be discharged from Blake Medical Center in Bradenton.
Firefighter Andrew Powers receives a Phoenix Award Aug. 20 from Battalion Chief Ryan Moore for his work to revive a drowning victim who survived and was discharged from the hospital. – Kristin Swain | Sun
The second call was in response to a drowning on June 3 on Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach. The responding crew included Lt. Darren Vollmer, firefighter Mike Petrosino, firefighter Jared Apple, firefighter/paramedic Adam Bagget and firefighter/paramedic Andrew Powers. Upon arrival, crew members saw bystanders giving CPR to an unresponsive male patient on the beach. Crew members took over CPR and advanced life support care. The patient recovered and was discharged from Blake.
The third call involved a male patient who went into cardiac arrest at O’Shucks Raw Bar and Grill in Cortez on June 4. Lt. Jay Johnson, Lt. Chad Brunner and firefighter Tyler McDonald responded to the call. Upon arrival, the first responders said it appeared the patient was having a seizure and wasn’t breathing well on his own. During the call, his heart stopped beating.
The patient, a resident of Anna Maria Island, Robert Philippi, was present at the Aug. 20 board meeting when the awards were given out. He said he was having dinner with his family when he had a heart attack.
“Obviously the night was a rollercoaster ride for everyone involved,” he said. “I’d never had a moment of ill health in my life, nor was I expecting a heart attack that night, but I was very fortunate in where I was that I had some expert bystanders around who helped with CPR until the team arrived. And from there I have very little recall, so everything I have is what people have told me that went on, but there’s no question that without the expert support and care that I received from the fire service, from the EMS crew that arrived there and actually from all the staff at Blake hospital because it required 10 resuscitations to get me stabilized over the course of about a five hour period. Unbelievably, I was discharged from the hospital two days later.”
“I’m just extraordinarily grateful to everyone involved,” Philippi said.
Firefighter Tyler McDonald receives the first of two Phoenix Awards Aug. 20. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Moore also read an excerpt from a letter written by McDonald praising the actions of Lt. Johnson.
“When Chief Sousa announced his goals to enhance the service of West Manatee Fire Rescue by providing advanced life support, we all knew this was going to be a challenge. Among other hurdles, one of the largest would be staffing our engines with paramedics rather than EMTs. Lt. Johnson was one of the first to offer his time and energy, go to school and be one of the missing pieces of the puzzle. As you know, Lt. Johnson completed paramedic school and has been a charge medic with us for nearly a year,” Moore read.
“On this particular cardiac arrest, I saw everything in a different way. Once the EKG monitor was attached to the patient, I watched a colleague who I’ve worked beside since the beginning of my career, read the squiggly lines on the monitor and immediately identify the abnormal rhythm that the patient’s heart was in and announce without hesitation that we needed to shock this patient. At this moment, this call seared an everlasting memory in my brain.
“As you know, with most cardiac arrests, even the ones that turn out to be saves, it’s only a hopeful ride to the hospital while the patient is still unconscious. This is the first time I have ever seen a cardiac arrest play out like a Hollywood movie where the patient jolts back to life and begins talking to us.”
“How unbelievably rewarding to see the dead come back to life,” Moore continued, reading from McDonald’s letter. “I’m extremely pleased to write this letter on the successful efforts that day and want to ensure that Lt. Johnson is recognized for the time and energy he has spent in order to use his skills as a paramedic and to have played a very large part in saving this man’s life.
“The advanced life support program that was started at West Manatee is an obvious success. I am proud to work with people like Lt. Johnson who always take initiative and have a passion and commitment to be the best they can be in this profession.”
