Man thanks firefighters, son for saving his life
Kitty Bottemiller / Green Valley News
A chance to say thanks
John Petersen (left) and son Justin are recognized by Chuck Wunder, GVFD operations chief.
Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012 11:49 am
By Kitty Bottemiller Green Valley News
A Sahuarita man whose life was saved by his son and rescue crews got to thank them personally at Green Valley Fire District Board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday.
“Gosh, it’s good to see you,” GVFD Capt. Greg Vanalstine said to John Petersen upon entering the meeting room, where he shook his hand. “You weren’t looking so good last time I saw you. Do you remember me?” Petersen nodded and smiled slightly. His wife, Margie, and son Justin were more animated in expressing how glad they are that Petersen survived, yet still glanced around quietly absorbing the attention.
Vanalstine and others who responded to their call for help had just cleared another rescue scene earlier the evening of Jan. 6 involving a man about Justin’s age, 24, who was severely injured in a drilling mishap near Titan Missile Museum. Even after that man was airlifted for treatment in Tucson, the crew’s adrenaline was pumping. Then came Margie Petersen’s frantic call from Via de Chapala that her husband was having difficulty breathing. He’d been reading in bed when the symptoms hit. Their address was just a short distance north, and crews raced there.
He had no pulse, Justin recalled. Margie said she froze and felt as if she were “screaming in panic” at the 9-1-1 operator who answered. Meanwhile, Justin’s CPR training as a Rancho Sahuarita lifeguard several years back kicked in and he began chest compressions. He wasn’t always at the house, but that evening he was. “He kept his cool,” Margie said. At one point, Petersen was in full cardiac arrest, said GVFD Operations Chief Chuck Wunder. “His son bridged the gap between when symptoms began and rescuers resuscitated, then stabilized him,” he said. “Before they got him to St. Mary’s Hospital, he was up and talking.”
Petersen, 69, had suffered a blocked artery.
Despite the busy duty shift, “everything went so smooth,” said Collin Thompson, an emergency medical technician with Southwest Ambulance, who responded to the call with Vanalstine and two others from GVFD, engineer Alan Ruch and Michael Landman.
“You had him in the proper position and all ready for us to work on him,” they said of Justin. Another rescuer said he “couldn’t get over” seeing Petersen up and about. “When I saw him that night, he was purple.”
The rescue crew and Justin were commended at the meeting for saving Petersen. Standing alongside his son and responders, Peterson thanked GVFD in general and all involved that evening.
“We’re really grateful,” Margie said.
kbottemiller@gvnews.com | 547-9732
© 2012 Green Valley News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
_________________________________________
Tubac fire leaves three people homeless
Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2012 12:20 pm | Updated: 3:44 pm, Sun Jan 22, 2012.
By Dan Shearer and Kathleen Vandervoet Green Valley News |
Firefighters train a hose on a Tubac home Sunday morning,
Fire quickly swept through a Tubac home Sunday morning destroying everything and sending the three residents into the street with little but the clothes on their backs.
Nearly 30 firefighters from Tubac and Green Valley fire districts responded to the call shortly before 7 a.m. in the 2300 block of Camino Esplendido in the Tubac Valley Vistas subdivision.
The four-bedroom block home and contents appeared to be a total loss, and flames were still shooting out of a broken window more than three hours later as firefighters targeted hot spots.
Jim Lamb, a retired reporter with the Green Valley News, lived in the home with his wife, Ann, and her sister, Barbara Hale. All three escaped uninjured along with a dog.
Lamb said he opened the door to a hall closet that housed the air conditioning/heating unit and flames shot out. “When I first saw flames I thought I would put water on it,” he said Sunday morning. But he quickly realized the fire was spreading quickly and got everybody out of the house. At one point, Lamb tried to re-enter the home to get car keys but retreated when the heat singed his hair. Two vehicles also were lost in the fire.
Lamb said the home was filled with antiques and material belonging to his wife, a seamstress. The heat blew out windows and quickly spread to every room. Smoke wafted across the valley and neighbors quickly rallied to help.
Firefighters said it would be at least two days before Lamb could enter what’s left of the home and sift the contents. Lamb said the water heater recently was replaced, and Hale said there had been an odd smell in the house for the past couple of weeks. A fire investigator on scene and had not determined a cause as of Sunday.
Tubac Fire Chief Kevin Keeley said a fire hydrant on the corner of Lamb’s property provided sufficient water early on, but water pressure began to drop when larger hoses were used. The department made use of a water basin called a porta-tank which held water that could then be pumped out to fight the fire.
Keeley said the fire "had a tremendous head start,” and described the interior of the house as having “a very heavy fire load,” which means there were many flammable items or materials.
Seeking help
The Tubac Community Center Foundation Board and Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Council are coordinating efforts to get the family what they need. Immediate needs include basic toiletries, food and clothing. Shoe sizes are men’s 10 and women’s 8½ and 9.
Carol Cullen said that for the next few days the three will stay with neighbors, but will need temporary housing and transportation.
Anyone who would like to make donations is asked to call one of these numbers, all area code 520: Carol Cullen, 404-6180, Bruce Pheneger, 990-1212, Lil Hunsaker, 248-6025 or 398-2114, Dyna Chin, 398-3038, or Rochelle Ulrich, 906-1106.
© 2012 Green Valley News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
_________________________________________
Firefighters and The University of Arizona Cancer Center team up to ‘Give Cancer the Boot’
