By Sandi Latimer
Staff Writer
Three members of the Jackson Township Fire Department were singled out for special tribute by a Grove City High School teacher.
Stacy Berrier told township leaders at the June 2 trustees meeting of the efforts performed in an emergency at the Grove City High School graduation at the Celeste Center on the Ohio Expositions Center grounds May 30.
Fire Chief Rick Dawson, Captain Shawn Quincel and firefighter Chris Hite were in the audience to see family members receive their diplomas. Berrier said that when a man in the audience began having breathing difficulties, the three went into action and attended to the man until medics arrived.
“I know that those men were there to watch their family members graduate. However, they did not hesitate to put the needs of others before what they were there to do” she wrote in a letter of commendation. “They potentially (and may have) missed that moment when their family member walked across the stage, but they still put others first.”
“I have had many firefighters/paramedics say ‘it’s just what we do,’ however, it’s doing what they do that may have saved a man’s life no matter what the cost to them is.”
Berrier said she has worked with the fire department for the past two years while teaching her students vocational and daily living skills.
“Over that time I have observed how dedicated these men are to their jobs, but it’s times like this where you can see that this is not just a job to them – it is a way of life.”
Dawson said they carried the man from his seat to an open area and elevated his feet and he started breathing normally.
