At its annual banquet Saturday night, the Aberdeen Fire Department honored two people whose lives its volunteer members saved during separate incidents.
The first responders who resuscitated Jack Tripp, 49, of Aberdeen, after he went into cardiac arrest, received lifesaving awards from the company Saturday.
Those who assisted 14-year-old Kevin Heckman Jr., who lives in New Jersey, as well as his mother and older sister after a four-vehicle accident at Route 40 and Oakington Road on Christmas Day 2013, also were honored during the company's 2014 banquet.
Both Tripp and Kevin and their families were able to attend the banquet and meet with the members who aided them.
"He [Kevin] is finally able to join us for a special reunion with all the first responders that were on his call," company secretary Jeffrey Sexton, who was the banquet's emcee, said. "We want to welcome them with open arms to our banquet here at the Aberdeen Fire Department."
Fire Chief Steve Hinch described the incident, during which paramedics rescued Kevin from the vehicle and then took him to University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace. The doctors at Harford Memorial evaluated and stabilized him and then called for a Maryland State Police Medevac helicopter to take Kevin to the pediatric emergency center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Five more people were taken to Harford Memorial and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore for treatment of their injuries.
EMS crews not only here in Aberdeen but around the county and state face these tragic incidents day in and day out.
The accident left Kevin paralyzed from his armpits down. He attended the banquet in a wheelchair with his mother Tamara Heckman and 16-year-old sister Kallie, who both live in Abingdon, his father, Kevin Heckman Sr., who lives in Allentown, Pa., and other members of his extended family.
"Tonight I am honored and proud to have with us the Heckman family," Hinch said, his voice breaking.
Tamara Heckman, who was driving, and Kallie were also injured in the crash.
Kevin Heckman Sr. said that Kevin, his mother and sister were traveling around Cecil and Harford counties, visiting relatives for Christmas, and they were traveling to see family members in Aberdeen when they were rear-ended while waiting at the traffic light at Oakington Road.
"He has full movement in his arms but no feeling from his armpits to the rest of his body," Heckman said of his son.
Heckman described the banquet as "great" for Kevin and his family.
"I think it was great, especially for him, and I think it's a good thing for the people from the department to see where he's at now," Heckman said.
Kevin lives with his grandparents in New Jersey and is home schooled, according to his mother.
"[I'm] just happy, I guess, to finally see who helped me and my kids that day, to put a face to who was there," Tamara Heckman said.
She said her son is "happy to be here, and he's happy to meet everybody."
Tripp, who was saved after going into cardiac arrest, attended the banquet with his wife Beth, son Gregory and Gregory's fiance Sami Pencek.
He held his wife as fire company leaders read the names of the first responders who showed up at his house and brought him back to life, including Todd Piper, Scott Budnick, John Welsh, Rob Glassman, Brad Willis, Brittany Spears and Jeffrey Sexton.
They hugged the first responders, including some who Tripp coached as youth soccer players.
"I don't remember anything other than waking up a few days later and [my family] telling me what happened," Tripp said later when recounting the incident.
He said he is "doing fine," and he has returned to work as a maintenance mechanic.
"If it wasn't for these guys and this department, I wouldn't be here," he said.
Fire department leaders also recognized members for their contributions during 2014.
The top fire responders were D.B. Smith Jr., who handled 735 calls, Dale Budnick Sr. with 617, Edward Budnick with 537, Wilfried Adams with 459, John Bender with 459, Dale Budnick Jr. with 443, Noel Budnick with 425, George Keithley with 371, Scott Budnick with 341, Josh Montague with 310, Jim Clement with 306, Josh Blanchette with 289, Chuck Glassman with 265, James Pritts with 265 and Darnell Hill with 262 calls.
Members who put in the most hours for "sleep in," or being on standby at the firehouses, were George Keithley with 916 hours, Scott Budnick with 752, Nicholas Weber with 499, Keith Budnick with 492, John Hopkins with 476, Dale Budnick Sr, with 404, Josh Blanchette with 400, Brandon Collier with 371, Jeffrey Sexton with 358 and Edward Budnick with 293 hours.
Members with the most administrative duty hours were Judith Mills Hinch, who served 1,349 hours, Darnell Hill with 334, Jonathan Ely with 324, Donald Wanless with 262, Nicholas Weber with 253, George Keithley with 245, John Hopkins with 121, James Clement with 77, John Bender with 66 and Florine Lovelace with 59 hours.
Dale Budnick Jr. and Todd Piper were recognized for five years of service, Jeffrey Sexton for 10 years and Gordon Biscomb for 35 years.
County and municipal leaders also thanked fire department members for their efforts, including Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett, who is also a long-time AFD member.
Bennett said members are "above average in everything that they do and the response that they give to this community."
The mayor also presented a check for more than $131,000, drawn from city property tax revenue, to the fire department, and he said city officials plan to give more during fiscal 2016.
"We'll be back next year with double that amount," he said of the allocation.