Clackamas Fire will recognize the efforts of a Gladstone man who saved a co-worker’s life at an awards ceremony next week.
John Cerda was at work in the early-morning hours of November 14, 2021, when one of his co-workers, a 54-year-old man, was severely injured after being run over by a large forklift.
Emergency medical personnel from Clackamas Fire and American Medical Response arrived at the scene to find the man had sustained traumatic injuries to his leg, including a life-threatening hemorrhage.
Crews rapidly performed an assessment, provided life-saving interventions and readied the patient for immediate transport to a level one trauma center.
What soon became obvious to firefighters on the scene was that the outcome of the call would have been entirely different without the quick thinking and interventions of Cerda, who is also a part-time Gladstone firefighter.
While emergency crews were en route, Cerda jumped into action, using his belt to apply a make-shift tourniquet to slow the patient’s loss of blood. Fire officials say Cerda recognized the critical nature of the situation and that his actions saved the life of his co-worker.
“This patient was fortunate to have a calm, cool and collected co-worker in John at his side that day, and his actions ensured the best possible outcome in this traumatic situation,” Clack Fire said in a press release.
Clackamas Fire will be presenting an award to Cerda on at its regular board meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, March 21. The meeting will be held virtually; instructions for joining or participating can be found on the district’s website.
