AIRDRIE, Alta – The Airdrie Fire Department awarded Certificates of Appreciation on Feb. 8 to two good Samaritans who played key roles in responding to an Airdrie man in medical distress last summer.
Ken Making and his family were on their way to the Airdrie Walmart on June 26, 2021 when they witnessed a vehicle drive over an embankment, straight into a nearby settlement pond.
“We were sitting at the intersection by the old Boston Pizza,” Making recalled. “We heard honking and saw a truck come rolling slowly through the intersection on a red light. I could tell right away that he was in medical need.”
As Making watched the vehicle go over the curb and down the embankment into the water, training and instinct kicked in for the retired volunteer firefighter, who jumped out of his truck and ran toward the pond.
While wading into the water, an off-duty Calgary police officer, Neal Stubbs, came running up behind Making to help out as well.
“We got the door open and waited for the patient's seizure to stop and removed him out of the water,” Making said, noting the vehicle was in a couple feet of water, and that water had started to enter the cab.
Soon after they brought the man to a dry area, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Airdrie Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene.
“When our crews arrived they found that these two gentlemen, Neal and Ken, had already been on scene and made their way into the water to render aid to the gentleman that was having the medical crisis that put him in the water,” said Airdrie Fire Department’s deputy chief operations, Garth Rabel.
While EMS tended to the patient, fire crews waded into the water to make sure there was nobody else left inside the vehicle.
Captain Paul Sunderland notified the Chief Officers of the two individuals’ efforts and suggested they be recognized by the department. A ceremony to issue the Certificates of Appreciation was held on Feb. 8, at the Chinook Winds Fire Station.
Stubbs, who responded alongside Making, was a 22-year veteran of the Calgary Police Service at the time of the rescue, according to Rabel.
“They committed themselves to community and to taking care of folks in the first place as their careers,” Rabel said.
Making and Stubbs reacted in a very positive, meaningful, and timely way and provided great assistance to the first responders when they arrived on scene, he added.
“A lot of folks just want to help and not be recognized but we feel that when folks go above and beyond and put themselves at risk to help someone else, it deserves to be celebrated,” Rabel said.
Making said the certificate of appreciation is an honour and it was nice to attend the Feb. 8 ceremony, but added he’s not someone who is looking for the recognition and likes to stay humble. With roughly a decade worth of experience as a volunteer firefighter in Crossfield, he said his reaction was second-nature.
“If you're able to help someone that's in need, by all means, do it. Everyone is trained differently, on different levels, but there's always something you can do to help someone,” he said.
