Be prepared: What you know could save someone’s life, so firefighter/paramedics Jeff Floyd and Charlie Sopko of the Oak Forest Fire Department and John Vogel of the Orland Park Fire Department have been volunteering over the last 18 months to teach young children what they can do to assist an injured person before emergency assistance arrives.
Their volunteer efforts won them the Christina Jean Award from the Save a Life Foundation. Floyd, Sopko and Vogel each has donated more than 40 hours a month, instructing nearly 5,000 students ages 4-12 in such skills as the Heimlich maneuver.
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“These guys are just unbelievable. They are true heroes,” says Carol Spizzirri of Grayslake, who organized Save a Life Foundation after her daughter Christina Jean died from injuries in a 1992 accident.
“Knowing how to summon local paramedics is a valuable skill for children to have,” Spizzirri says, “but it’s also important for them to know what to do until professional emergency personnel arrive to assist an injured person.”