Rich is an active member of LPVFR, responding to all types of calls whenever as he can. He's also completed the driver training classes and is starting to drive our engines and command incident responses.

His most memorable call happened in May of 2003, before he was a Firefighter or an EMT. He stopped to render good Samaritan aid at an accident involving a car and big-rig. The driver of the car was severely injured and unconscious. Using only his Lifeguard training and a pair of gloves, Rich maintained the patient's airway until rescuers arrived. The car had struck the big-rig in the fuel tank and diesel was leaking onto the vehicle and down onto the patient and Rich. He remained in place without any additional safety gear while firefighters cut the vehicle away to remove the driver, who was air lifted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and survived. Because of its complicated nature, the incident was written up in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, and Rich was awarded Vacaville Fire's 2003 Citizen of the Year Award for his actions.

When he's not responding with us, Rich keeps busy SCUBA diving, camping, and running - all the way up to marathon distances.

Finally, I asked Rich if there was anything he'd like to tell people reading this article. He replied: "Make sure that your address is visible from the street and clear any obstructions on a regular basis, change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks for daylight savings time, and be sure that if you or your family has any medical conditions, allergies, or is taking medication, you create a file-of-life for rescue personnel and put it on your fridge." That's all great advice, so I'm passing it on entirely unchanged.

You can contact Rich by email at rharrison (at) lomaprietafire.org