Lake Zurich firefighter/paramedics win Valor Award

A team of Lake Zurich firefighter/paramedics have received the 2017 The 100 Club Valor Award for going above and beyond the call of duty last year when responding to a crash involving a critical-care ambulance carrying a 6-year-old girl.

Capt. David Pilgard, Lt. Daren Garcia, and firefighter-paramedics Steve Norman, and Eric Ryan accepted the award last week in Chicago.

“I'm proud of the personnel and how they handled the call,” Fire Chief John Malcolm said in a news release. “We always strive to put patient care first and this was a prime example of how your personnel goes above and beyond each and every day.”

The private ambulance carrying the girl, who is dependent on a ventilator, was taking her to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago for her six-month checkup when the crash occurred.

With the ambulance unable to continue because of crash damage, the crew could have called for a replacement ambulance, which would have taken more than an hour to arrive and cause the girl to miss her appointment. Instead, they took it upon themselves to transport the girl on the 80-mile round trip to and from the hospital.

The crew felt it was the “right” choice for the patient and her family, officials said.