St. Louis County 911 Lifesaver Award Winners

Sometimes the greatest heroes are those that perform their actions as part of their daily activities.  Recently, St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman recognized some Northlanders for their specific responses.  With their  911 Lifesaver Awards, three different scenarios - and the individuals involved - with honored.

Here are some of the details - provided by St. Louis County:

One of the awards went to the team of people who worked together to save the life of 6-year old Caleb Simmonsen - who nearly drowned in Lake Ore-Be-Gone in Gilbert last July. William Bronk, a former lifeguard and swim instructor happened to be at the beach and noticed the boy floating motionless in waist deep water. Bronk quickly brought the boy to shore where he was met by a Jennifer Benedict, who happens to be a former paramedic. She immediately started CPR. Meanwhile, another woman, Renae Krmpotich, who had just arrived at the beach to pick up her sons, saw the commotion and ran to help with the CPR. Shortly after the calls to 911 were placed, Gilbert Police Chief Ty Techar arrived on scene to assist with life-saving efforts while Lt. Tom Smith and Officer Kevin Greene secured the scene for the Virginia Ambulance and the North Air Care helicopter that had also been dispatched. Upon their arrival Virginia Fire Department Paramedics Ross Gramling, Elizabeth Smith, and Jon Carlson, confirmed that Caleb had a pulse but was not yet breathing effectively. After transferring Caleb into the Virginia ambulance, paramedics continued to treat Caleb, and through their continued efforts, they were able to watch as Caleb began to breathe on his own. Also assisting in this incident were the Gilbert Fire Department and First Responders, St Louis County Sheriff’s Office, and North Memorial Air Care Air Ambulance.

Another award was given to a Hermantown man and his dog, as well as an off-duty sheriff's deputy, who together saved an elderly couple from a house fire in May of 2018. Mick Aspin said it was his dog, Dolly, who first noticed the smoke and flames coming from the attached garage on their neighbor's home. When Aspin went looking for the dog, he saw what was going on and went over to help. At the same time, an off-duty (now retired) St. Louis County Sheriff's Deputy, Mark Phinney, happened to to be driving by and stopped. The men first tried finding an unlocked door. When that didn't work, Aspin tried kicking in the front door. The noise was enough to get the attention of the homeowner, Ron Skenzich, who'd been unaware of the fire. As Phinney called 911, Aspin was able to help both Ron and his wife, Pat, who'd fallen inside, to get safely out of the house. He then went back inside to rescue the Skenzich's dog, Toby. The home was destroyed in the fire, but the Skenzichs and their dog all escaped without injury.

A third award was given to 911 Emergency Communications Specialist Carmen Kimball, and to Paul Ochs of Grand Lake Township. Ochs had called 911 in March of last year after his wife, Mari, collapsed and stopped breathing. Kimball provided Ochs with instructions by phone - to position Mari on her back and how to provide CPR. This continued for 10 minutes while waiting for first responders to arrive. Kimball even assisted with counting so that Ochs could maintain the necessary rate of compressions. Sadly, Mari Ochs passed away the next day. But thanks to the teamwork of Paul Ochs and Carmen Kimball, Mari's loved ones had time to gather at her side. Additionally, her organs were able to be donated, saving the lives of others.