Teamwork between Kent police officers and firefighters helped save the lives of at least three people in February during a fire at an apartment complex.
For their efforts, five officers received Life Saving Awards from Police Chief Ken Thomas at the May 17 City Council meeting at City Hall.
Sgt. Andy Grove and officers Brian Cortinas, Andrew Reed, Jeff Reeves and Brittany Rios were dispatched on Feb. 28 to a fire at the Rock Creek Landing Apartments, 1024 Central Ave. N.
Cortinas and Reed were the first officers to arrive and started to help evacuate people from the ground floor, Thomas said. The officers worked their way through the smoke, but were unable to get up to the third floor when the smoke became too thick.
Rios went to the second floor to help evacuate residents. When she went back to the first floor, she heard a man up on the third floor yelling for help.
“She saw the man waving his arms and he said he was trapped with a woman and an 11-month-old baby,” Thomas said.
Rios called to ask for the fire department to bring a ladder. Firefighters used a ladder but it only reached to the second floor. Firefighter Chris Croft scaled a portion of the building to reach the family and rescued them with the help of police.
Grove and Reeves were on the ladder to help the three get down from the third floor.
“This was outstanding work by our staff and in partnership with the fire department we avoided a huge catastrophe and saved lives certainly of those three on the third floor and others as well who were evacuated from down below,” Thomas said.
Croft received the Medal of Valor last month from the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority for his life-saving efforts.
Volunteer saves life
Steven Letter, a volunteer in police services who pulled a man off the railroad tracks downtown on March 24, also received a Life Saving Award.
Letter saw a man walking down the middle of the tracks near First Avenue and West James Street. He then saw the man lie down on the tracks as a train approached.
“Steven was able to pull him off the tracks before the train arrived and saved his life,” Thomas said.
Paramedics transported the man to a hospital. He reportedly was under the influence of marijuana and had other issues going on, Thomas said.
Although the award normally goes to full-time officers, Thomas said Letter deserved the award because he was working as a police volunteer when he performed the life-saving action.
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