Fla. first responders honored for heroic actions

By Alexi C. Cardona
Naples Daily News

NAPLES, Fla. — One of the scariest calls for a first responder is a woman going into labor.

Things don't always go right, like when firefighter Erin Gill of the Greater Naples Fire-Rescue District and her team responded to a late-term miscarriage in July.

"That was a disturbing call," Gill said. "It was one of the tougher calls we've had as a crew."

When Gill got another call about a woman going into labor in Golden Gate the same day, she and her crew felt uneasy.

But what are emergency responders to do when they arrive at a home and find a woman lying on the driveway, her baby already crowning?

"You catch the baby," Gill said.

Gill and about a dozen other Collier County first responders were honored Thursday for their work in the community by the Naples chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Collier County EMS paramedic Jose Gomez, Greater Naples Fire Lt. Jake Beckman, firefighter Dennis DiSarro and engineers Acey Edgemon Jr. and Justin Beasley also were awarded the Emergency Medical Services Commendation Medal for taking care of the baby and mother during the delivery.

"Guys can get a little nervous about helping deliver, but their training kicks in," Gill said. "I'm blessed to work with the most competent, compassionate, dependable guys around."

The men and women honored Thursday exhibited courage and tenacity in their work by pulling people from burning cars, diving into canals to save someone in a car crash and helping arrest a man accused of killing two law enforcement officers in 1976.

"I hear these stories, and I just can't believe what you all do," said Michael Garey, president of the local Sons of the American Revolution.

And those honored indeed had gripping stories.

Gardy Bradley, a Collier County emergency medical technician, and his girlfriend, Emily Bronzini, were driving to attend a wedding in Connecticut in September when they noticed a car that had lost control on an interstate highway, crashed into some trees and caught fire.

"Before leaving for Connecticut, Gardy wanted to stop to buy a fire extinguisher," Bronzini said. "I was a little annoyed, but we went and got it. When we saw the burning car all those hours later, he yelled to me to get the fire extinguisher, and I thought, 'Of course we have one.' "

Bradley and a group of bystanders pulled the unconscious driver from the car just before the car exploded.

"They were all real heroes," Bronzini said. "They were all so brave. I'm grateful for the people who do this for a living because they're the reasons why a lot of people get to live."

Bradley was awarded the Medal for Heroism.

Also honored at the award ceremony were:

Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. John Schultz for his work as a traffic homicide investigator and numerous accomplishments, including finding Walter Norman Rhodes, a fugitive accused of killing an FHP trooper and a Canadian constable in a rest area off Interstate 95 near Pompano Beach in February 1976.

Collier County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Shannon Patton and Cpl. Steven Thompson for finding and arresting a man who shot at another man and became hostile toward the deputies, taking a fighting stance and reaching in his waistband for a weapon.

Collier Sheriff's Office Cpl. Meagan Kitchenhoff for jumping into a canal at Pine Ridge and Airport-Pulling roads to save a man whose car landed upside-down in the canal after a vehicle crash.

Collier Sheriff's Office Sgt. Leslie Weidenhammer for her work to help and understand people suffering from mental illness.

Collier Sheriff's Office Cpl. Brandt Blank for extracting the victims of a serious three-vehicle crash on State Road 82, securing the scene and giving instructions to bystanders to help those who were hurt.

Greater Naples Fire-Rescue District Lt. Inspector John Bigica for his dedication as a fire inspector and his work with the district's Investigative Section/Fire & Life Safety Branch.

Copyright 2016 the Naples Daily News

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