Firefighter dubbed great first responder

July 18, 2008 06:32 pm

— By Michael O'Connor
editor@trcle.com

Cleburne’s EMS Provider of the Year has been named a Great First Responder by CareFlite and the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.
CareFlite President James Swartz presented Mikel Moore of Cleburne with the award Thursday at the Central Fire Station.
In a letter of nomination, Assistant Chief Keith Scarbrough wrote that Moore was part of a crew that responded in February to a call involving a 16-year-old girl. While paramedics examined her, she collapsed, stopped breathing and had no pulse.
They determined that her heart was fibrillating, but they were able to revive her before she reached the hospital. She had no previous history of heart problems, Scarbrough said.
Moore was the Cleburne Fire Departments 2007 EMS Provider of the Year, an honor bestowed by his peers.
“He’s a real good guy and works hard,” Scarbrough said. “He’s pretty humble and embarrassed by all this.”
Moore received good-natured ribbing from his co-workers before the presentation, and his face frequently reddened during the joking and the presentation.
“I just want to point out that the whole team was involved in that incident with the girl,” Moore said after the presentation. “I’m kind of taken aback from this. It’s kinda cool.”
Swartz said the award is patterned after a much older award, 100 Great Nurses, and CareFlite developed it to recognize the work first responders do.
“There are people who, often in the middle of the night, respond to the most difficult of circumstances,” Swartz said after the presentation. “These guys put themselves in harm’s way for the benefit of the community.”
He said he’d made a similar presentation recently in another town in the company’s service area. After the ceremony the honoree, a longtime volunteer firefighter, told Swartz that was the first time anyone had said, “Thank you.”
The award, he said, is to make sure members of the firefighting community know they are appreciated.
Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said the department is proud of Moore’s accomplishments.
“We’re proud of all our guys, and we like when they are recognized for a job well done,” he said. “We work hard and train hard and appreciate it when someone recognizes the work we do.”