Firefighter rescued drowning motorist.
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'Hero' sits uneasily on Mike Schmidt's shoulders.
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He unconsciously shifts as he talks about what happened Friday night, as if to dislodge the notoriety. His training as a firefighter stood him in good stead when he saved a young woman's life, but it was mostly 'old-school' firefighter instinct that helped him ride a Jeep sinking into 25 feet of water down far enough to get the door open.
'A higher power put the key players there,' he said. 'I knew how deep the water was because I fish there a lot. My background trained me to stay calm. My friend was there with me to help. And a security guard was there to call 911. None of us could have managed without the others.'
It was only after 23-year-old Alex Stewart was safely on the shore of Lewisville Lake that the impact of what happened hit him.
'They never would have found her,' he said. 'If she had drowned in the Jeep, her body would not have floated out. No one would have known what happened to her. She would have been a missing person.'
Schmidt, 38, has been a Denton firefighter for 10 years, with stints in Midland and Highland Village before that. He lives in Hickory Creek with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, and he fishes to relieve the stress of a dangerous job. He was off duty Friday night. He and his friend Doug Lovell and Lovell's 11-year-old son were fishing off the dock at Lewisville Marina near Sneaky Pete's restaurant, a popular hangout for young people.
Stewart, of Plano, could not be reached for this story. But Schmidt said she left Sneaky Pete's about 11 p.m. Heading for Interstate 35E, she took a wrong turn down a dark road. It led to a platform for a crane to haul yachts out of the lake. She told the men later that she was text messaging when suddenly there was no road under her. First there was space. Then there was water.
'We heard something that sounded like an explosion,' Schmidt said. 'I could see headlights floating on the water. It wasn't like we huddled up and said, 'you do this and I'll do that.' I jumped over a gate and threw my wallet and cellphone down and jumped in. I swam over and got on the hood so I could see how many people were inside.'
Lovell dove in to help. The Jeep began to nose down, sinking in about 25 feet of water. Schmidt could see the young woman inside screaming. She was kicking the windshield with her bare feet.
'I knew I had one chance to grab her. One shot,' he said. 'I remember my ears popping. I remember the taillights going down. I knew I wasn't going to get the door open until the pressure equalized.'
In those circumstances, a vehicle must be fully submerged before the doors will open. As soon as he could get the door open, water rushed inside and the Jeep began to sink quickly to the bottom. He grabbed the young woman and swam to the surface, where he handed her to Lovell. The two swam to the boatlift and a ladder Schmidt knew was there.
A security guard had called 911, and soon Lewisville firefighters arrived. Schmidt was in full paramedic mode by that time, checking the cuts on the woman's feet and making sure her vital signs were good.
'She asked Doug, 'Did I just nearly die?' and he had to tell her yes. There were a lot of tears and hugging after that,' Schmidt said.
Area television stations learned of the incident and have kept Schmidt's telephone ringing, asking for interviews. It makes him uncomfortable, he said. What he needs right now is to talk to his 'brothers,' his fellow firefighters, to debrief, to understand how and why it happened.
'Firefighters talk about 'making the grab.' We all want to help people. We all want to rescue a child from a burning house. I always wanted to make the grab. I just didn't know that for the higher power, it was my night, off duty, to make the grab.'
In an emergency such as a traffic accident or a fire, firefighters bring control to an uncontrolled situation, he explained.
'But I couldn't control this. I didn't have my guys to back me up or any equipment,' Schmidt said. 'Doug told me he didn't have a clue what to do. He said, 'When I saw you go down, I was going after you.' He's a family man with four kids. That was such a show of love it just blew me away.' Assistant Fire Chief Mark Klingele said the incident shows that a firefighter is never really off duty.
'Mike's an old-school firefighter who relies on his instincts,' Klingele said. 'We couldn't be more proud of what he did or who he is as a person. This is not just a job to Mike. He wants nothing more than to do the right thing.'
Schmidt said he hopes the young woman receives counseling. The trauma of the experience is hard for even him to get over, he said. He has his 'brothers' to talk to, and she will need someone as well, he said.
Modern firefighting techniques balance what is at risk with the risk firefighters take. No more do men without protective equipment rush into abandoned buildings to save them, he said. Protocol demands a considered balance of risk versus gain.
Some civilians would not have jumped into deep water to save a drowning woman, he said. Though he would wish it not to be true, some firefighters wouldn't do it either, he said.
'I'd like to think that anyone would have done what I did,' Schmidt said. 'I do what I do because that's what I would expect for my family and friends.'
Republished with permission from The Denton Record-Chronicle
After retiring in 2014, Crest Whitaker Sr. Remained active.He worked out three times a week at the Oak Cliff YMCA and played softball twice a week.Despite the dreary weather last Oct. 28, the 72-year-old got ready for his gym routine.
But as he walked into the YMCA, he suddenly became nauseous. The pain in his chest felt like an elephant was sitting on him. He sat down on a mat, feeling like he was about to collapse.A woman shouted, “Sir, are you OK?” Then she called 911.The crew at Dallas Fire Station 40 had just finished a quick dinner when the station bells started ringing. There was no time to waste.
It took them less than a minute to get to the YMCA, which was down the street.They saw a man who was conscious but turning pale. He told the first responders he was struggling to breathe.But they quickly realized this was no ordinary call: He was the former lieutenant at Fire Station 46 just a few miles away.“We had seen him a few times at the fire station,” said firefighter Matt Weber. “So then it registered.”Whitaker’s symptoms pointed to a potential heart attack. They got him on a stretcher and rushed him to the hospital.Whitaker suffered three heart attacks that day. Retired Dallas Fire Department Lt. Crest Whitaker Sr. (third from left) with firefighters AJ Andrews, Chandler Myers, Matt Weber, Kevin Hejl and Gabriel Montez at Fire Station 40.
(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)About four months after his heart attacks, Whitaker stood in the garage of the fire station to retell the story of that rainy October evening. He’s been on a road to recovery.His heart attacks left kidney damage and he underwent dialysis.
These days, Whitaker said, he’s feeling much better but is taking it easier in the gym.On Wednesday, Whitaker joined members from Dallas Fire Rescue Station 40 and Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Dominique Artis to express his gratitude. Firefighters Weber, AJ Andrews, Chandler Myers, Gabriel Montez, Steven Bennett and driver Kevin Hejl were honored for their lifesaving response.“It is humbling to go from a caregiver compared to a care receiver,” Whitaker said.The men who responded to the call that day said it’s what they would do for any person in need of help.“We treat all our patients with the same care,” Montez said.Whitaker credits the crew for saving his life. He said first responders often don’t find out what happened to a patient they encounter in a moment of crisis.After Whitaker was released from the hospital, he wrote to Artis. He even made homemade certificates to thank the men.“This is a thankless job,” Whitaker said. “First responders always respond.
Most times, there is no reward or recognition.”Artis said Whitaker was a lieutenant who always pushed his crew to provide the best service in the department.Whitaker retired from firefighting in 2014 after several years as a lieutenant at Fire Station 46 off Camp Wisdom Road. He spent 36 years with the department.He raised a family of first responders, too. His son, Creston Whitaker Jr., has worked for the fire department since 2007. His daughter, Chelsea Whitaker, works for the Dallas Police Department.“It’s almost full circle,” Artis said. “He was on the other side, and we stepped up to the plate.” Retired Dallas Fire Department Lt. Crest Whitaker Sr.
Recounts suffering a heart attack in October while at the Oak Cliff YMCA, just a few blocks from Dallas Fire Station 40. He coded multiple times but was saved by firefighters and emergency room doctors. (Brandon Wade / Special Contributor).
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