(DES MOINES)- Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will honor Mason City police officers and firefighters with the 2011 Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor.
A press release from the Governor’s office said “Every day men and women in uniform quietly serve, sacrificing their safety to keep Iowa communities secure. It is only appropriate the state take time to honor the officers and firefighters who go above and beyond the call of duty.”
On Monday, November 7, at 11:30 a.m. Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds will attend Sullivan Brother’s Award of Valor Presentation in the State Capitol – Rotunda.
Mason City Sullivan Brothers Award Critical Incident Synopsis:
Date of incident: October 27th, 2010.
Public Safety Personnel involved: Police Officers Charlie Connor, Tiffany Creekmur, Lane Seifken and Ed Walthall. Firefighters Lieutenant David Orr, Aaron Beemer and Peter Beiber.
On October 27th, 2010, at approximately 12:19 pm, the above named officers and firefighters were dispatched to a single vehicle crash along Birch Drive near the Mason City High School. The callers reported that a car had flipped into the river and was partially submerged in the water. Furthermore, there were 3 occupants trapped inside the vehicle. The weather was quite blustery, with temperatures in the 40’s and wind gusts up to 65 mph.
Officers Connor, Creekmur, Seifken and Walthall arrived at the scene at approximately 12:23 pm, and immediately shed their gun belts and entered the freezing Winnebago River. All four officers combined were instrumental in their efforts attempting to pry open the badly damaged vehicle doors.
Firefighters Orr, Beemer and Beiber arrived at the scene approximately four minutes later, at 12:27 pm. The officers in the water immediately notified the firefighters to bring extrication tools to the car. Firefighter Beemer donned his water rescue suit and entered the river just as the officers were able to pry open the driver’s door. The officers located 2 occupants in the car that were unconscious and still strapped in their seatbelts. Officers cut the seatbelts to remove the two occupants and then passed them, one by one, to Firefighter Beemer, who had swum into the car through the missing rear window. These two occupants were then passed to Firefighter Beiber and Lt. Orr, who also entered the river to assist with the rescue efforts.
All the officers and firefighters were able to move the 2 unconscious victims to the shoreline, where they were met by ambulance personnel who began life support. The driver was resuscitated and was released from the hospital within 48 hours of the crash. The passenger died as a result of the crash.
