Sarasota County Fire Department Honors Citizens and Fire Crew Members at Awards Ceremony

Sarasota County Fire Department presented 170 awards at an award ceremony Oct. 25. Among those recognized were citizens who displayed heroism, offered assistance or showed commitment to a cause, as well as emergency personnel who demonstrated their commitment and dedication to service. 

Ten citizen awards were presented. One of them went to a 7-year-old boy, Christian, who was severely injured in a boating accident. He was recognized for his "extraordinary courage and bravery," which greatly assisted emergency medical service (EMS) staff in being able to help him immediately after the accident. 

"In 20 years of service in EMS, I have never seen someone so brave in the face of adversity, even among adults," said Sarasota County Fire Captain Chris Miles, who nominated Christian for the heroism award and was part of the crew that stayed in touch with the family during the boy's recovery. "Christian's bravery and strength made our jobs so much easier. Throughout our entire time caring for him, in the face of what anyone would consider an extremely fearful and painful situation, there was not one whimper or cry."

Also honored for heroism in the incident was a local charter boat captain, Tom Bailas, who initially jumped into the water to get the young boy on board.

Four young men were honored for coming to the aid of a woman who was unconscious after a motor vehicle accident in which the car hit a tree and was on fire. Travis Tritschler, Dylan Crawley, Josh Lugo and Mike Dudash, who pulled the woman out of the car, were recognized for their efforts.

Pavla McDonald, a former lifeguard of Sarasota County, was presented an award for performing CPR on a 4-year-old child who had fallen into a neighbor's pool. By the time the county crew arrived, the child was breathing and conscious.

Another citizen award went to Rusty Miller, who assisted in -- and allowed his houseboat to be used for -- the recovery of a body in the water. Emergency Fire Department and Sheriff's Office personnel were dispatched to the area, but their rescue boats were far away when the person was first reported floating face down in the Intracoastal Waterway. 

A citizen award also was presented to Alan Bullock, who works for the city of Venice. Bullock was recognized for his efforts in assisting Sarasota County Emergency Management officials in arranging for the establishment of a Disaster Recovery Center at Venice City Hall after Tropical Storm Debby. 

Ty Overmyer of Sarasota County Public Works, the 10th recipient of a citizen award, was recognized for developing the design and overseeing the construction of a stand to hold a World Trade Center artifact from 9/11 that had been awarded to the Sarasota County Fire Department.

Sarasota County Fire Department's Phoenix Award recognizes emergency personnel for successful resuscitation of a cardiac arrest victim, resulting in discharge from the hospital. Those awarded the citation bars were involved in at least one of six calls where a patient was saved from death. Some of the patients who had been revived were at the ceremony to hand out the citation pins to those who came to their assistance. Emergency personnel from the Sarasota County Fire Department, North Port Fire Department and the Englewood Fire Control District were among those honored.

In the Sarasota County Fire Department, the following awards were presented: Officer of the Quarter to Captain Susan Pearson; EMT of the Quarter to firefighter and EMT Jesse Schilling; Firefighter of the Quarter to Brian Rees; and Civilian of the Quarter to Ed Effron.

The Medal of Honor was presented to firefighter and paramedic Jeff Gossett and firefighter and paramedic Mark Prohaska. The Medal of Merit was presented to firefighter and paramedic Tim Falter. Other awards presented were for years of service, unit citations and special recognition awards.