Hoover chamber honors 2022 Public Safety Workers of Year

When a massive rainstorm dumped 12 inches of rain in Hoover in early October of last year and streets began flooding, the Hoover Fire Department received more than 100 calls for assistance, fire Chief Clay Bentley said.

Two people died when their vehicle stalled in floodwaters in Riverchase and was carried over a guardrail and submerged in the rushing water, but Hoover firefighters carried out multiple successful water rescues that night.

One of those rescues occurred in the same stretch of road where the fatalities occurred less than an hour later.

Hoover firefighters Chase Lovett and Nathan Sweeney, members of the Fire Department’s technical rescue team, volunteered to go into fast-moving floodwater that was well above their knees to rescue a woman who was trapped in a vehicle up against a guardrail on the back side of a dam.

Their heroic efforts that night led to them being named Hoover’s 2022 Firefighters of the Year, and they were recognized today at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, along with other Public Safety Workers of the Year.

David Edgar was named Hoover’s Paramedic of the Year, Lee Love was named Police Officer of the Year, Senior Cpl. Tyrone McCall was named Detention Officer of the Year, and Terrance Darling was named 911 Operator of the Year.

About 150 people attended the chamber luncheon in the banquet room at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, where they were honored.

FIREFIGHTERS OF THE YEAR

Lovett and Sweeney both volunteered without hesitation to save the woman who was trapped in floodwaters on Riverchase Parkway West, Bentley said. They and their team of firefighters used an elaborate rope rescue system constructed by 10 crew members, Bentley said.

Wearing protective equipment, they waded into the fast-moving waters, reached the woman, gave her a personal flotation device and safely assisted her back to dry land without injury, Bentley said.

Street lights were out because of a power outage, so it was dark, and there were a lot of heavy limbs, debris and yard furniture being washed by the men as they performed the rescue, he said.

Lovett has been a career firefighter/paramedic for six years and been with the Hoover Fire Department three years. Sweeney has been a career firefighter/paramedic for 11 years and with the Hoover Fire Department for nine. Both of them are assigned to Station No. 4 on Municipal Drive and part of the technical rescue team.

PARAMEDIC OF THE YEAR

Edgar was nominated for Paramedic of the Year for his handling of an extremely difficult situation on July 5 after responding to a well-involved fire at The Lory of Hoover apartment complex on Rocky Ridge Road.

When Hoover fire crews arrived to assist the Rocky Ridge Fire District, there were multiple reports of people injured and missing, Bentley said. Edgar was instructed to establish a water supply and begin to attack the fire, but while he was doing that, a man ran up to him with an unresponsive child, Bentley said.

Edgar immediately began lifesaving care for the child and moved him to a medical transport unit nearby, the chief said. Other paramedics arrived to assist, and just before the crew left to go to the hospital, the man brought another one of his sons that was suffering from serious smoke inhalation and difficulty breathing. The two boys’ parents also were showing the same symptoms, so Edgar decided to take all four family members in the same rescue unit at the same time, Bentley said.

Normally, only one patient is taken at a time, but there was only one transport unit available at the moment, he said. Edgar realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly got all four family members to Children’s Hospital and UAB Hospital, and all four made a full recovery, Bentley said.

Edgar has been with the Hoover Fire Department for nine years, works at Station No. 4 and also is a member of the technical rescue team.

POLICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Love was named Police Officer of the Year for his work as a school resource officer at Bumpus Middle School since August 2017.

Love has gone above and beyond to provide additional layers of security for his school and provide additional training and resources to help protect students and faculty, Chief Nick Derzis said.

He was instrumental in implementing a color-coded ceiling tile system in his school to facilitate faster patrol response in the event of an active shooter call, and his use of different colors for different hallways now is being used as a model for possible enhancements at other Hoover schools, Derzis said.

Love also assessed the need for large reflective numbers to assist first responders in recognizing the best points of entry during an emergency, Derzis said. He took time during spring break, numbering entry doors and classroom windows all around the school and on different floors, the chief said.

Love also teaches each class how to use desks and chairs to construct barricades inside their classroom doors to slow down active shooters, and students at Bumpus regularly practice creating barricades during their lockdown drills, Derzis said.

Love has been with the Hoover Police Department for 22 years.

Other nominees for 2022 Police Officer of the Year were Sgt. Sam Davis and Blake Walker.

DETENTION OFFICER OF THE YEAR

McCall was named Detention Officer of the Year for his work at the Hoover Jail, where he serves as the most tenured senior corporal.

He was instrumental in implementing a quarantine block to house newly booked inmates to prevent spread of the COVID-19 disease, Derzis said. Illness can wreak havoc on a secure detention facility, and McCall’s work allowed the Hoover Jail to continuously operate while preventing the spread of infection among inmates, Derzis said.

While about half the jail staff have had COVID-19, not one jail inmate has come down with COVID-19, he said. McCall has been instrumental in ensuring the day-to-day needs of the facility are met, the needs of the inmates are handled with respect and the safety of his staff is always put before himself, Derzis said.

McCall has been employed with the city of Hoover for 18 years and on Friday, Oct. 28, is to be sworn in as Hoover police officer.

911 OPERATOR OF THE YEAR

Darling was named 911 Operator of the Year for his handling of an emergency call just this month, Hoover 911 Director Linda Moore said.

Darling received a call about a man who was unresponsive and not breathing and, after getting medics en route, stayed on the phone line and talked the caller through CPR until help could arrive, Moore said.

Medics continued CPR en route to the hospital, and upon arrival at the emergency room, medical staff were able to obtain a pulse on the man, she said. While the final outcome of the man’s condition is unknown, Darling’s early intervention and clear communication of CPR instructions gave the man a chance for recovery, Moore said.

Darling, who has worked in the Hoover 911 Center since 2011, is a certified training officer, mentor, role model and valuable member of the team, Moore said.  “He can handle high-stress calls and never be phased.”