CDF workers, Valley CHP officers among those recognized by governor.
By E.J. Schultz Bee Capitol Burea
Fresno Bee
Copyright 2006 McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With the three-bedroom house almost fully engulfed in flames, chances were slim of finding the 98-year-old woman alive.
But Timothy Main wanted to give it a shot.
“I’m going after her,” Main, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection captain, told his chief. “And he said go.”
His first pass through the crumbling home brought no luck. But on the second try, he and CDF paramedic James Rajskup found the woman clinging to the floor under a pile of blankets. Together, they pulled her to safety through the blinding smoke and 1,000-degree heat.
For their bravery, Main of Visalia and Rajskup of Hanford were awarded the Governor’s Medal of Valor, the highest honor that can be bestowed on state employees. The two men were among 42 recipients of the award, handed out Tuesday at a Sacramento ceremony attended by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Main and Rajskup were recognized for their 2003 rescue at the burning home near San Jose, part of the zone where the two men work. As the months passed, the men kept track of the woman, who later died of Alzheimer’s disease. They even dropped by her nursing home to check on her.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime career thing that you actually pull somebody out and they live,” Rajskup said.
The other Valley residents recognized Tuesday were California Highway Patrol officers Christopher Mode of Merced and Ericson Sherwood of Fresno. Their 2004 rescue began innocently enough, at a four-way stop on a Merced County road.
Looking out the officer’s patrol car window, Sherwood saw a car barreling toward them. His car spinning out of control, the driver screeched to a halt near the officers.
And the chase was on.
Mode and Sherwood pursued the car across rural roads and over Highway 99, until the 17-year-old driver crashed into a utility pole, sparking a fire in the tall grass. The vehicle burst into flames and the two officers went in for the teenager, who was drunk.
“We’re both tugging on him,” recalled Sherwood. The 250-pound teen’s leg was pinned under the dashboard. “I remember telling him, if you don’t pull your foot out, you’re going to die.”
They finally pulled him to safety. Minutes later, the car exploded.
Charged with a felony, the teen never thanked Mode and Sherwood for saving his life. No matter, said the officers, who were just doing their job.
“I think the main reason we pulled him out,” Mode said, “is that we didn’t want to sit there and watch him burn to death.”