Fire Fighter II

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

2/21/2023

Special Service Award (Silver)

On February 21, 2023, the Santa Cruz Mountains were experiencing another winter storm in a season of consecutive atmospheric rivers. While this storm had less precipitation than previous ones, local winds were steady at 36 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Many trees in the area had been weakened by previous storms, and trees more than 100 feet tall were falling, damaging structures and making roadways impassable. CAL FIRE Engine 1760, staffed by Fire Captain Josh Clark and Fire Fighter IIs Kyle Callaway and Kenneth Ellis were asked to assist the neighboring Boulder Creek Fire Department with a report of a tree that had fallen onto a house and trapped a victim inside. Engine 1760 and Boulder Creek Fire units arrived at the residence that was badly damaged. The top of a redwood tree that was over 10 feet in length and 12 inches in diameter had broken off and fallen through the roof of the home and continued through the floor, trapping a young toddler underneath. The toddler’s pelvis was pinned between the tree and the badly damaged floor. Trees and other debris continued to fall from unknown directions all around, threatening the rescuers’ lives. Captain Clark, Firefighters Callaway and Ellis and the Boulder Creek firefighters worked from the rooftop and inside the home to stabilize the structure's roof and floor and remove the tree while also monitoring the toddler. The toddler was fading in and out of consciousness and his condition continued to deteriorate. The crew decided to free him before the entire tree could be removed, which presented a particularly technical challenge. They had to relieve the log’s weight from the toddler while preventing the roof from caving in. In an effort that can only be described as brute strength, Firefighters Callaway and Ellis lifted the remaining tree section just enough for another firefighter to pull the toddler out from underneath. Due to the weather conditions and rapid wind gusts, a helicopter air ambulance was not able to respond, so the toddler was escorted by firefighters, paramedics and sheriff deputies to a trauma center where he underwent multiple surgeries for associated injuries. Fire Captain Clark, Firefighters Callaway and Ellis and the Boulder Creek Fire Department displayed instinctual courage in this dynamic and hazardous environment. The toddler’s dad shared, “If everybody wasn’t doing their job, I don’t know if he’d be alive or not.” The State of California takes great pride in presenting the Silver Medal of Valor to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Fire Fighter II Kyle Callaway for his heroic service extending above and beyond the normal call of duty.