Police saw domestic violence suspect set home ablaze. They saved victims, arrested man
Fresno Police officers who saved victims from a burning apartment complex set ablaze by a domestic violence suspect were among dozens of police personnel presented with medals on Thursday.
The following individuals received the Lifesaving with Valor Medal during the department’s annual Major Commendation Ceremony at Fresno City Hall.
Burning apartment rescue at domestic violence call
Officers Bret Hutchins, Alana Williams, Joshua Weskamp and Rebekah Wells arrived to a call in October where a wanted felony domestic violence suspect was spotted setting fire to an apartment complex.
Flames quickly started to engulf the building and they could hear people inside screaming for help.
Some officers went upstairs into the burning complex to evacuate those at the top, while others broke a lower window and pulled adults and children out. Among them was the suspect, who was arrested. Wells injured her forearm and hand breaking the window.
The officers also caught some residents who had to jump out of burning windows.
Of being awarded for their heroism, Williams said, “We genuinely did it just for the families and the children.”
“It’s very special to us to be a part of that,” Williams said, “and to know that we were a part of saving their lives, and there’s very minimum injuries.”
Police rescue people from crashed vehicles in canal
The others awarded the Lifesaving with Valor Medal were recognized for helping pull people from vehicles that crashed into canals.
Two of these stories were told. The first involved Officer Martin Salas, who saw an SUV plummet into a canal while on his way home from work.
The SUV was sinking and being swept away in swift water before becoming lodged on an object. Its 19-year-old driver rolled down the window. Water started to fill the inside of the vehicle.
“Officer Salas used his quick thinking and calm demeanor to provide directions to the driver, having him climb out onto the vehicle roof,” police said. “Once on the roof, Officer Salas and three citizens climbed down the steep embankment to the water and formed a human chain to rescue the driver.”
A second canal rescue involved Officers Brandon Lyon and Daniel Fink.
The K-9 officers responded to assist with a shooting call. They were told the victim crashed his vehicle in a canal while fleeing attackers.
Lyon and Fink found the vehicle submerged in 5 feet of swift water with two female victims on its roof. A juvenile was attempting CPR on the other who had died.
The officers used a metal ladder cemented on the canal to hold onto each other while using a 50-foot K-9 leash to rescue the juvenile.
Fresno Police Department medal recipients
Here is the full list of police award recipients honored on Dec. 19, 2019.
Lifesaving with Valor Medal: Officers Martin Salas, Brandon Lyon, Daniel Fink, Bret Hutchins, Rebekah Wells, Alana Williams and Joshua Weskamp
Lifesaving Medal: Corporal Miguel Archan; Sergeants Mark Sotelo, Steven Jaquez, Justin Hardy, Conrado Martin and Henry Garcia; Officers Eric Ovalle, Edmund Voelkel, Matthew Vincent, Kong Xiong, Vincent Baez, Ray Camacho, Katrina Lloyd, David Standley, Matthew Elms, Thomas Wooten, Adam Estrada, Tristan Deidrich, Steve Rocha, Jason Watkins and Michael Diaz
Outstanding Achievement Medal: Lt. Ron Hughes
Medal of Merit for Meritorious Service: Rodney Lowery, Fresno Police Chaplaincy executive director
Exceptional Performance Ribbon for Investigations: Detectives Kham Xiong, Mikal Clement, Amada Galaviz and Parvinder Dhillon
Recovered Firearms Award: Officers Jose Arellano, Sukhbir Chauhan and Kaosoy Saechao; Detectives Jarrett Kraft, Martin Moreno, Rudy Montoya, Chris Franks, Primo Diaz, Michael Aguilar, Jared Garcia, Christopher Landin, Ricardo Loza, Vince Zavala, Robert Fry and Anthony Vallez
Latent Print Award: Crime Scene Technician Jessica Baker; Cadets Vincent Tinoco, Alejandro Lopez, Cody Yang and Sarah Avila
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 6:02 PM.
