Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative is proud to recognize four employees who were presented with Life Saver Awards at the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDaREC) annual Apprenticeship, Safety, and Training (AT&S) conference in January.
The Life Saver Award recognizes heroic actions that contribute to life saving efforts of another person. Here are their stories.
January 26, 2023
BDEC crews were working late on January 26, 2023, due to a frost and ice storm that passed through the co-p’s service area. Towards the end of the day’s work, Eric Sieg, BDEC Operations Manager and volunteer fire fighter, received a 911 page for a vehicle accident.
Knowing travel was difficult at the time due to snow- and ice-covered roadways, Sieg contacted a BDEC crew working within a few miles of the incident to inform them of the situation and ask if they would be willing to assist. Lineworkers Jason Bruner and Terry Knutson agreed to go to the scene and provide aid, if needed, until emergency services arrived on scene.
Once on scene, Bruner and Knutson assisted the Sheriff’s deputy in evacuating the individual from the vehicle. The two then administered CPR until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs took over.
Because of the slippery road conditions, several emergency vehicles slid off the roadway into snow filled ditches upon arriving at the scene. Before leaving the scene, Bruner and Knutson used their truck’s winch to pull the emergency vehicles out of the ditches and back onto the road.
June 16, 2023
On June 16, Kenmare lineworkers Jason Bruner and Terry Knutson stopped at a member’s house on their way through the yard at the end of the workday to notify the member of an upcoming planned outage to their residence.
Upon approaching the front door of the house, Bruner heard a voice from inside the home yell, “I’ve fallen, and I think I broke my leg. HELP!” The door was locked, so he told the woman he had to go to his crew truck but would be right back.
A radio call was placed to the main office to advise them of the situation and to call 911. Another radio call was placed to the other crew members— Richard (Joe) Thomas and Kyle Helmers—for them to return to the member’s home to assist.
The crew gained entry to the home and provided comfort to the woman until the ambulance arrived and transported her to a local hospital. The linecrew members worked with the main office to contact the woman’s husband, who was not home at the time, and notify him of the situation with his wife.
A few weeks after the incident, the woman called into the office to get names of the gentlemen who helped her that day. She wanted to thank them for their help and wanted to see them recognized in some way for their efforts.
June 17, 2023
On June 17, an individual performing maintenance inside the City of Bowbells’ water tower called 911 after he became physically exhausted and was overcome by the extreme temperature inside the water tower and could not get himself out.
The Bowbells Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene and sent two firefighters up the tower to assess the situation. They communicated back that additional assistance was needed. Lineworker Terry Knutson was on scene and volunteered to climb the tower to assist.
Once on top of the water tower, Knutson and the firefighters used a series of ropes and pulleys attached to the rescue truck’s winch to pull the individual out of the water tower and lower him to the ground where he received medical treatment.
In each of these emergency events, BDEC employees called upon their safety training and skills to aid when others may not have been able to. We commend Jason Bruner, Terry Knutson, Richard (Joe) Thomas, and Kyle Helmers for their willingness to assist both on and off the job and for the compassion, character, and leadership shown during these events.
Congratulations on an award well deserved!