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DIAMOND LAKE – A South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue firefighter/paramedic was presented the district’s first Lifesaving Medal for Valor Thursday, Jan. 15 for saving a man’s life.
Nick Wahlman was presented the medal for rescuing a man having a heart attack in the ocean in Hawaii last November while he was vacationing on Maui.
Wahlam noticed a pair of adult men struggling in the ocean offshore from a beach in Kihei Nov. 15.
Without hesitation, Wahlman jumped into the water and made it to the pair, where he noticed one of the men was turning blue and not breathing. He got the man to shore and with the help of Dr. Ethan Deckert, Stevens County Medical Program Director, performed CPR, according to SPOFR’s Fire Chief Shane Stocking, who presented Wahlman with the award.
Due to their efforts, based on experience and a high level of training, Wahlman and Dr. Deckert were able to regain the man’s pulse by the time Maui County Fire Department and ambulance resources arrived.
It is the expectation that South Pend Oreille firefighters train and perform to be “difference makers” and be ready for the “one chance” they may get to impact a life, Stocking said. “However, it is going above and beyond the call of duty to leave your family and put yourself at risk while on personal vacation.”
Stocking said, “South Pend Oreille leadership finds Nick Wahlman to be absolutely deserving of recognition, as he represented the highest in both SPOFR standards and personal.”
