Three Saint Cloud Fire Department Members Given Life Saving Award

(KNSI) – Three members of the Saint Cloud Fire Department were honored at Monday’s city council meeting for their part in a rescue that happened last September.

A fire broke out at an apartment complex in the 600 block of 11th Street South with people inside. Chief Matt Love says firefighters were able to get into a unit and locate a woman who was passed out, shrouded from view by heavy smoke.

“Fire Captain Kyle Gammell, Fire Apparatus Operator Brian Alsaker, and firefighter Calvin Schoen…they were on that first arriving engine company. These were the individuals that actually pulled this victim out and got her out of the fire quickly.”

The woman was passed to others after she was taken outside. They treated her on the street until an ambulance could reach the scene. The quick actions likely saved her life, as Chief Love says exposure to smoke and superheated gases is often deadly.

Love says his department handles similar calls thousands of times each year.

“We go out the door between 8,000 and 9,000 times a year. And so, as you can imagine, certainly some of those calls are lower emergency calls, maybe utility problems. But a fair amount of those calls are either crisis/emergency medical calls or fires, everything from vehicle fires to structure fires.”

Love says over 75 firefighters in the department are trained to provide medical aid if necessary.

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