| At about 9:15 on Monday evening, November 28, the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department was alerted to an emergency call for a child with difficulty breathing. The Basic Ambulance Unit was already on another call and the Paramedic Unit was returning from another call still quite a distance away. Thanks to the fact that all Clinton VFD firefighters (FF) are qualified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and all of our Fire Engines carry an EMT Aid Bag Volunteer FF/EMT Ashley Butler, FF/Medic Edward Scott, and FF/EMT William Philpott were able to rapidly respond with Engine 251 to initiate medical assistance until an Ambulance or Medic Unit arrived for transport.
Upon arrival, they found a relative trying to administer a nebulizer treatment to 5 year old Christina Luckett who was in obvious respiratory distress. Butler and Scott took over care of the child as Philpott gathered medical history from a family member. Butler and Scott noticed the child had stopped "fighting". Her lips turned blue and her respiration started to decrease. She "crashed" and "coded" and was in respiratory arrest. Philpott saw that the firefighters had initiated cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and immediately asked dispatchers the estimated time of arrival for the medic unit. He was advised "about five minutes."
Fearing for Christina's welfare and realizing she needed immediate medical intervention for any chance of survival, the crew made the decision to transport their patient on-board Engine 251. Though not a normal course of action, utilizing the Fire Apparatus provided precious minutes that might impact this little girls survival, since they could be at the hospital well before the medic unit reached the scene. The firefighers, never stopping CPR, placed Christina in the crew area of the Engine and transported her to Southern Maryland Hospital. Prior to arrival at the Hospital, the diligent efforts of FF/EMT's Butler and Scott, were rewarded as the child experienced spontaneous respirations and a pulse. Thanks to these three firefighters Christina Luckett returned home to her family after a 3 day hospital stay.
Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor along with Christina Luckett, her parents and grandmother presented awards to Ashley Butler, Edward Scott and William Philpott. Chief Bashoor stated, "Thanks to your skills, quick thinking and initiative to think outside of the box, a young girl's life was saved. For your performance, which undoubtedly saved the life of your patient, you are hereby presented a Fire/EMS Department Emergency Service Award. Congratulations and thank you for an outstanding job! Your actions represent the excellent service our Department strives to provide to the citizens of Prince George's County." As a thank you, 5 year old Christina Luckett gave each of the three a large framed signed photo of herself with poem and the signatures of her family members.
Several members of the press attended this ceremony. Here are the links to some of the local media coverage:
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/12/5-year-old-md-girl-thanks-firefighters-who-saved-her-life-70651.html
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Firefighters-Honored-for-Saving-Girls-Life-136117193.html
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/firefighters-ignore-the-rules-save-girl-122211
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=180978
The following Clinton Volunteers attended the ceremony: Ashley Butler, Bob McGhee, Dave Rucker, Martin Padgett, Keith Hopkins, John Rivera, Justin Rucker, Pop Yandell, Tom Grannis, Brian Cheeks, Nicki Miskell, and Sally Brown. Also in attendance were Prince George's County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association Past President Buddy King and Prince George's Volunteer Fire Commission member Charlie Phillips. |
