Twelve Sedona Fire District crew members received Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Lifesaving Award for their rescue of a 17-year-old boy on June 7 at Grasshopper Point.
“It goes to show when we have the right people in the right places, we get great results,” SFD Battalion Chief Dave Cochrane said. “And that’s what happened on this day.”
After jumping off the rocks into the creek, the boy went into cardiac arrest when he landed in the water. After bystanders realized something was wrong, a few of them pulled him out of the water and began cardiopulmonary resuscitations.
When SFD arrived around 1:30 p.m., he had an unsurvivable heart rhythm, but just one defibrillation restored his pulse. Before the medevac helicopter arrived, SFD crews stabilized the boy enough that he was talking and cognitive.
“The impact of the water just hit perfectly during the heart’s normal cycle,” Cochrane said. “It is very rare, the fact that he was 17, the fact that they got him out of the water and the early defibrillation.”
According to SFD officials, water and jumping related injuries have risen in the past few weeks and there have been three calls related to jumping injuries.
Most recently on July 9, a man around 30 years old died while jumping into the water near Slide Rock State Park. The call was quickly transitioned from a search to a recovery incident. SFD found his body after a one-hour search.
“There’s not a lot of warning signs out there and no lifeguards on duty,” Capt. Pat Ojeda said. “People are jumping off rocks at high points and going swimming without anyone there to supervise them. When you’re going there, you need to know that. You need to make sure you understand the water and you’re taking precautions.”
The patient from the June 7 rescue is expected to make a full recovery after his accident. He was even able to finish his trip to the Sedona area and fly back home.
Although the bystander who performed CPR on the patient was not identified by SFD, the district thanked him for his service. They also encourage others to be on the lookout when visiting popular swimming areas around Sedona.
“This one, fortunately, came out with a positive outcome and the gentleman finished his trip,” Ojeda said. “This is a great outcome, and you don’t always get that so people need to be careful.”
The fire district wants to meet with the U.S. Forest Service to discuss placing signs along the popular swimming areas, warning swimmers of the jumping risks.
Verde Valley Medical Center prehospital coordinators Troy Hoke and Debbie Verkyk presented the awards to a select group of available recipients.
The full list of award recipients is as followed: Paramedic and Capt. Brian Ford; engineer EMT Cooper Carr; firefighter EMTs Marcus Koistinen and Tyler Woo; firefighter paramedics Kyler Lee, Sandeep Grewal and Jeff Hamm; paramedic and Capt. Patrick Ojeda, engineers and paramedics Keith Christofferson and Kai Kincheole; Battalion Chief and paramedic David Cochrane; and paramedic and Capt. Jeff Wassell.
