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Madison Twp. firefighters honored
(by Linda Dillman, staff writer - May 21, 2009)
A pair of Madison Township Fire Department personnel were honored for their life-saving efforts in reviving a cyclist.
Capt. Matt Seipel, standing in for Fire Chief Cliff Mason who attended the Star of Life Awards ceremony at Crown Plaza in Columbus along with Allen Young and Wayne Altman, reported at the Madison Township trustees' May 20 meeting that the two firefighters received the award following a May 9 incident on a bike path in Southeast Franklin County.
A Columbus engine and Madison Township Medic 182 were dispatched to the scene when Thomas McDonald thought he was having an asthma attack while riding his bicycle. Upon arrival, the engine called for a station truck, which was small enough to negotiate the bike path and after locating McDonald, brought him back to the medic.
As he was prepared for transport to the hospital, McDonald became unconscious and went into ventricular fibrillation, which occurred several times during the trip to Mt. Carmel East. According to the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, who present the annual Star of Life Awards, McDonald is alive and well due to the response and experience of fire department personnel.
"This is a prestigious award," said township administrator and retired fire chief Larry Flowers, who said Young, along with a former Madison Township Fire Department captain, appears on a billboard calling attention to emergency medical personnel. The presentation coincided with EMS week across the state of Ohio.
Keeping waterways clean
The road department updated the trustees on local involvement in a national pollution discharge program tasked with cleaning up waterways.
"This is an important program," said Wes Welch, "and we'd like to have people in the township help us out."
Township participation includes: twice-yearly street sweeping in Blacklick Estates, which helps prevent debris from entering vital waterways; and yearly spring cleaning of storm sewers.
"We find all kinds of trash in the catch basin," said Welch, who reported 800 basins are annually cleaned by hand. "We also pick up trash along the roadways four times a year. We work hard at keeping the inlet/outlet tiles clean. Residents can help us out by picking up trash and preventing oil or excess fertilizer from entering the waterways. If people would just take 20 minutes or less picking up their properties, it would help the waterways."
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