When you’re a paramedic, you’re never really off duty. When the chief of emergency medical services for the Naperville Fire Department saw a road traffic accident on his way home from vacation, he didn’t hesitate to help.
Now his altruism and bravery have won him a CAPS award, one of several local firefighters recognized by the public this past week.
CAPS, which stands for Citizens Appreciate Public Safety, is a Naperville community group that recognizes public safety personnel for their contributions to the city. Each year, residents are asked to nominate public safety employees who have displayed an interest in Naperville’s residents in a manner above and beyond the call of duty and exhibited a genuine concern for the welfare and well-being of all Naperville citizens.
Like all recipients, John Sergeant said he was humbled by the award, which was presented Thursday at Meson Sabika.
“I’m not a big fan of awards but I am appreciative of the people who feel called to acclaim what I do,” said Sergeant, who is celebrating his 21st year with the department. “The other feeling I have is embarrassment, I’d rather no one know. It’s a good story to tell coworkers but I’d really not get involved. All of us feel the same way but their hearts are in the right place.”
The accident happened on April 3 on Interstate 57, north of Champaign. A minivan in had rolled over, leaving some members of a family of five trapped inside.
“My youngest had just asked me if I had ever seen an accident, and I said ‘plenty,'” Sergeant said. “We came round the corner to see the accident just finish while we turned. The minivan had rolled over at least two times.”
When someone else stopped and called 911, Sergeant asked them to tell the dispatcher there was an off-duty firefighter/paramedic at the scene assisting those who were injured. A baby in the back seat was uninjured, so he removed him in his car seat because he knew the mom would need the jaws of life to free her. Two girls were thrown onto the median and a nurse who had also stopped helped them.
Sergeant conducted a rapid assessment of the scene, working to identify any hazards before triaging the patients and helping the most vulnerable, he said. Once the local emergency service arrived, he began IV therapy treatment and other lifesaving medical procedures.
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At the same awards ceremony Thursday, two firefighter paramedics who helped launch new programs were honored — one for community risk reduction and the other for advanced cardiac resuscitation.
Andrew Winkler is a second-generation Naperville fireman and fifth generation Naperville resident. Like Sergeant, he says he’s not a fan of being the center of attention.
“It’s just what I do, but I do appreciate the award,” he told me. “I love my job because I like helping people.”
Winkler spearheaded a trial of a Community Paramedicine program, which is aimed at helping the growing population of seniors and homebound citizens with physical challenges. He was instrumental in connecting Naperville residents with the services they need, which led to an almost 60% reduction on repeat calls over a 90-day trial period.
Most 911 calls aren’t real emergencies at all, Winkler said.
“Sometimes people call if they need help getting to the bathroom, or they need multiple lift assists because they don’t realize different help is available to them at home,” he said. “They can get rides to the doctor, for example.”
Winkler’s program helped people by connecting them to social services, thus reducing their need to call 911. The pilot program was so successful they are now awaiting city approval to run it full time.
A program led by William Croft has seen Naperville become a national leader in cardiac arrest survival. Naperville and the Edward Hospital EMS System are becoming known as the leaders in cardiac survivability.
Acknowledging his award, he told me: “It’s very humbling that people would think of me that way when I played such a small part in what we did. This award should go to the men and women of the Naperville Fire Department; they are the ones doing it day in and day out.”
Croft, who has been a Naperville firefighter paramedic for 26 years, was nominated for his “unbelievable commitment to our citizens who suffer from cardiac arrest (no pulse, no breathing).”
In just over two years, cardiac arrest survival numbers in Naperville have doubled and tripled in some quarterly reports. Croft said he worked with 30 different departments across the country to learn what they do, and learned one thing they needed to do was bring in mechanical CPR units, he said.
“We think we are doing a good job with that, but we don’t,” he said of manual CPR.
When the heart stops, the ph levels change meaning the cardiac cells can’t accept electric shocks,” Croft said.
“The only way to do stop that happening is to do CRP continuously,” he said.
Naperville Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said the main goal of CAPS is to recognize fire and police personnel for their outstanding efforts above and beyond what their duties require.
“Most of the CAPS awards are actually chosen because of what the personnel have accomplished outside of the workplace,” he said. “This could include an act of kindness or assistance to someone in need in an emergency or after noticing a life event that could be made better due to a specific action or effort on the part of the fire department member.
“In my mind, these acts of great service often become unnoticed and certainly without any awards or recognitions. What CAPS does is provide a focal point to these great events that we hear about from nominees and through our CAPS annual event we can showcase these outstanding acts of service and kindness in hopes that others will continue to the same for people in their greatest times of need.”
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved from England to Naperville in 2007.