Sheriff’s Star Award presented to Wellington duo

February 18, 2009

By Gary Raham

The Wellington

Kyle Griffin and Jeff Crawford learned last summer that it’s not enough just being in the right place at the right time during an emergency — one also needs to do the right things quickly.

Their actions of “alertness” and “initiative” earned them the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff’s Star Award on Feb. 10 at a ceremony in Fort Collins.

As Griffin and Crawford biked down Harrison Avenue in Wellington (Colorado) last July 23, they heard a girl yell “fire” from where she was sitting on a park bench. They looked to see smoke pouring from the window of a building across the street, very close to adjacent houses, and immediately ran toward the smoke and fire.

“We didn’t think about it, we just reacted,” said Crawford.

He grabbed a can full of gas that was close to the fire and moved it away. Griffin called the fire department on his cell phone. They hauled computer parts and an old bike with smoldering tires out of a shed and soon spied a couple of shovels.

Griffin stomped on the handle of one shovel to keep it from burning, then used it to put dirt on the fire, getting minor burns on his hands in the process. Crawford tossed dirt with a short-handled camping shovel. Their efforts put the fire out during the few minutes before the fire truck arrived, perhaps keeping nearby propane tanks from blowing.

Griffin and Crawford thought the fire had been deliberately set because they saw burned matches near a pile of combustible material.

Crawford, 21, had helped put out a few grass fires before in rural areas of the county where he had lived, but nothing quite like this.

He and Griffin, 16, recalled the incident in a recent interview at the Filling Station, where both often play in a small band.

The sheriff’s commendations stated, “Both Kyle and Jeff jeopardized their own safety to come to the aid of their community. The town of Wellington should be proud of these young men for their exemplary actions.”

Griffin’s father, Joshua, noted proudly that the room full of police officers and other awardees gave the young men a standing ovation at the ceremony. “It was quite something to see,” he said.