Eleven heroes awarded for sacrifice in saving lives

Eleven heroes who went above and beyond in the line of duty were honored and awarded today at the Red Cross East Idaho Real Heroes Award Luncheon.

Heroes representing fire safety, law enforcement, animal rescue and the workplace were just some of the many men and women honored who sacrificed their safety to rescue another in 2017.

Nicole Sirak-Irwin with the Red Cross explained the difficult process of narrowing it down to just eleven. She explained, “Here’s what’s interesting about every single hero is they’re all so humble. So a lot of them are reluctant to accept…oh, I just did what anyone else would do…and then you hear their story and realize they put themselves at risk and that kind of thing.”

Nominations were open year round. Eventually, they were narrowed down to the eleven with unique stories of heroism and dedication in protecting the public.

Idaho Falls police officer, Bart Whiting, was one of those humble heroes, who calmed down and comforted a man threatening suicide outside of the crown bar, followed by sitting with him at EIRMC for close to four hours.

Whiting graciously stated, “I know any other officer with the Idaho Falls Police Department would have been able to do the same thing. I work with a great group of people, a lot of amazing officers with our team, and we work well together and they help me be better.”

Sacrificing their safety for others.

The following eleven were those selected as the 2018 Red Cross East Idaho Real Heroes:

1. Fire safety: Safe Haven Care Center employees and Pocatello Fire Department B Platoon, for efforts to evacuate residents safely during the Safe Haven fire

2. Law enforcement: Idaho Falls Police Officer Bart Whiting, for keeping an armed young man from taking his own life

3. Youth hero: Lazai Koontz, Joshua Clarke, and Whitney Apel, for following a drunken driver with their car and reporting her to police

4. Search and rescue: Grand Teton National Park Ranger & Teton County Sheriff’s Dept Search and Rescue, Randy Lee And Jonathan Cook, for rescuing a backcountry skier suffering cardiac arrest

5. Medical hero: Keith Forkin and Jake Liday, for helping a longtime Pocatello referee who had a heart attack while officiating a game

6. Animal rescue: Idaho Falls Animal Shelter Staff & Volunteers, for going above and beyond to care for the animals

7. Workplace: UPS driver Coy Danner, for helping man whose SUV had crashed into a canal

8. Water safety: Nathan Fillmore, Idaho Falls Fire Department, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, for rescuing a man from the Snake River

9. Blood donor: Jeremy Plothow, a teacher who donates blood every chance he gets

10. Spirit of the Red Cross: Kenny McClure, a Pocatello police officer who bought shoes and a bus ticket for a homeless man

11. Every day citizen — Larry Orchard, a Chubbuck man who rescued his wife from a burning camper during a hunting trip

(provided by Matt Ochsner, Regional Communications Director)