CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Presentation of Fire Chief’s Awards
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DEPARTMENT: Fire Department
SUBMITTED BY: Mark Puknaitis, Fire Chief
Award presentation: Rick Tosch, Joe Messing, and Tom Szkliniarz
On June 4, 2021, Truck 1 and Medic 1 were dispatched to S. Main Street/W. Chicago Avenue for a patient not breathing. While enroute to the call, Naperville PSAP informed the crew that three citizens had pulled the patient out of the river.
Rick Tosch, Joe Messing, and Tom Szkliniarz were eating on the rear patio at Blue Sushi when they noticed a man appearing to be having a medical issue and fall into the river. Joe Messing pulled the man from the water and all three tended to him until the police and fire departments arrived. It appeared the patient had a seizure.
The quick thinking and selfless actions by Rick Tosch, Joe Messing and Tom Szkliniarz helped to save the patient.
Award presentation: Adam Hass
Late on June 12, 2021, Engine 6 was responding to a patient choking. Enroute to the scene Naperville PSAP advised that the person was no longer choking and the object in her throat had been dislodged. The patient’s grandson, who had recently graduated from Good Samaritan Hospital’s Paramedic Program, performed the Heimlich Maneuver and successfully removed the obstruction.
Adam’s heroic actions saved his grandmother that evening.