NEWFANE-Members of Rescue Inc's swiftwater rescue team have received the prestigious Higgins and Langley award for their work during the 2023 flooding events that did tremendous damage throughout Vermont. The members of the swiftwater rescue team received these internationally recognized awards in South Bend, Indiana on June 16.
In all, seven members of the swiftwater rescue team were honored: Drew Hazelton, Eric Wilson, Mike Mather, Victoria Gassett, Travis Perez, Tyler Boucher, and David Coppock. Included in the award was Phil Edgerley, member of Vermont's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1, who assisted the team during the event.
"These awards are about our preparedness and performance when our communities are in dangerous and immediate need," said Rescue Inc. Chief Drew Hazelton, in a news release. "But they're also about our teamwork, because no one can do this scale of work all by themselves."
During 2023, Vermont, along with other northeastern states, suffered a series of flooding events that cost the region approximately $2.2 billion to repair. Montpelier was devastated and, sadder still, two Vermonters lost their lives during the flooding.
"We have seen a lot more flooding over the past few years," said Josh Brookes, part of the swiftwater team and a Captain at Rescue Inc. "We train for this all the time - to get to where people need help, assess the situation, and move quickly to get them safe."
The Higgins & Langley Memorial Awards, established in 1993, are internationally renowned for recognizing exceptional achievements in flood and swiftwater rescue. Honoring the legacies of Earl Higgins, a writer and filmmaker who died in 1980 while saving a child from the Los Angeles River, and Jeffrey Langley, a firefighter-paramedic and pioneer in swiftwater rescue who died in a helicopter crash in 1993.
Although there are a number of categories, Rescue's swiftwater team won the "Incident Award." The Higgins and Langley website says about the award, "A specific water rescue, recovery operation, or prolonged mission that clearly demonstrates outstanding training, skill and preparedness in a swiftwater or flood rescue."
"This highly prestigious award is a testament to the training and perseverance of this Rescue Team," said Program Manager Mike Cannon of the state of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue Team. "Rescue Inc. is one of the state of Vermont's most robust Swiftwater Rescue partners and we are extremely proud of their accomplishment of receiving this award."
Founded in 1966, Rescue Inc. serves 15 communities in southeastern Vermont and the Connecticut River Valley. A nonprofit ambulance service and emergency rescue provider, Rescue Inc has been celebrated locally, statewide, and nationally for their excellence, response times, and innovative approach to emergency medicine. In 2022, Rescue Inc. started the Vermont EMS Academy (VEMSA), a world-class training facility in Newfane.
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