Paramedics and Nurses Recognized for Extraordinary Personal Actions

Chief Justin Lammers has recognized seven Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics and two Windsor Regional Hospital nurses for helping save lives while they were off duty or not in service to respond to calls.

Lammers presented them with certificates of commendation and Essex-Windsor EMS meritorious service coins Monday at a ceremony the Essex County Civic Centre. Incoming Deputy Chief, Planning and Physical Resources, Ziad Fatallah described the incidents for which the paramedics and nurses are being recognized as each came forward.

Paramedics Scott Miller, Sean Hettrick (who was not able to attend) and Josh DeFoe (now with the Middlesex-London Paramedic Service) were involved in a training session at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel on May 7 when they saw heavy smoke. They were the first to arrive at a house fire on Windsor Avenue near Tuscarora Street. They immediately went into an adjacent house to warn the three sleeping residents and help them get to safety.

Miller, Hettrick and DeFoe were commended for their “decisive actions and selflessness” and “commitment to the well-being of others.”

Paramedics Kevin and Natalie Demarco, who are married, were at the Pinery Beach near Grand Bend on Sept. 19, 2021, when a teenager had a seizure while in the water. The Demarcos ran into the water when the girl’s father, who was with her, yelled for help. The couple took the girl out of the water, gave her month-to-mouth resuscitation and administered other life-saving measures.

The Demarcos were recognized for their “quick thinking, calm demeanour and decisive actions” and “selfless dedication to others.”

Mike and Danese Lacroix were shopping at Devonshire Mall in Windsor on Jan. 13 this year when they saw an elderly man had collapsed. Mike, a paramedic, and Danese, a nurse, quickly determined the man had no vital signs and started CPR. They had others call 911 and bring them a public access defibrillator. Using the defibrillator, they were able to restore the man’s circulation with one shock. He regained consciousness and could speak before first responders arrived.

The Lacroixs were commended for playing a crucial role in saving the man’s life, as well as reassuring and supporting his wife at the scene.

On July 19 this year, paramedic Jeffrey Kfrerer and partner Brianna Schipper, a nurse, were at Seacliff Beach in Leamington when bystanders rescued an unconscious young boy from the water and started CPR. Kfrerer and Schipper stepped in to assist until an EMS crew and ambulance arrived.

Kfrerer and Schipper were commended for immediately assessing the situation and selflessly taking “prompt and effective action to provide care to the victim.”

The chief’s meritorious service coins and commendation certificates recognize extraordinary personal actions.

“It is important to publicly applaud the dedication and selflessness of professionals, like these paramedics and nurses, who never hesitate to use their skills to help others,” Lammers said.

(Left to right in the photo: Chief Justin Lammers, Josh DeFoe, Scott Miller, Mike Lacroix, Danese Lacroix, Kevin Demarco, Natalie Demarco, Brianna Schipper, Jeffrey Kfrerer and incoming Deputy Chief Ziad Fatallah.)