Several firefighters, paramedics and some citizens were honored today for some real-life heroics.
The entire crew of Rescue 3 was presented a meritorious unit commendation for helping rescue a contractor who fell 35 feet inside a ship docked at the port.
Student Aidan Vargas received a certificate of merit for helping a fellow student who had a seizure and nearly drowned in a pool.
Zach Cuellar and Jake Sims were also presented with a certificate of merit. They came to the aid of an accident victim.
And there’s no age limit to heroism.
14-year-old Guillermo Batini and his 13-year-old cousin Nicholas Morris were also honored for helping their 88-year-old quadriplegic neighbor and his 90-year-old wife.
The two young men pulled the elderly couple from the pool and stayed with them until police arrived.
And how do they feel about today’s honors?
“I feel good, I feel happy, and nice inside. Good. How do you feel?” Morris said.
His cousin agreed.
“I feel good also,” Batani said. “It’s gonna be cool to have it in my house and I get to look back at it.”
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the life-saving award to a firefighter who gave CPR to a National Guard soldier who collapsed and went into cardiac arrest.
This award has only been awarded five times in the past ten years.
