Stephen Vaughn
Fire Apparatus Engineer
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
12/22/1982
Special Act Award (Gold)
On December 22, 1982 at 10:30 a.m., Fire Apparatus Engineer Steve Vaughn received a call from the Emergency Command Center about the impending catastrophe that Diana Hill and the four children (Brenda Hill, age 5; Joshua Hill, age 4; Cassandra Nagy, age 10 and Anthony Nagy) had encountered when their pickup truck became stuck in Lopez Canyon Creek (San Louis Obispo) on their way to a Christmas shopping trip.
It was raining. The high swift water was rising and rushing rapidly. The pickup truck was pushed downstream by the strong current when Ms. Hill attempted to cross the creek.
At this juncture, Diana Hill and the oldest boy Anthony Nagy tied a rope to the bumper and waded 20 feet to the bank. Ms. Hill planned to have the boy hold the rope on the bank while she ferried the youngest children to safety, but was unsuccessful. The rising water was too much for her. While they were standing in the downpour on the opposite bank, the three children were trapped inside the pickup with a camper shell in the middle of Lopez Canyon Creek.
Fire Apparatus Engineer Steve Vaughn, with the help of Ted Gillenwater and Brian Feuer (both county employees), extended a 24-foot ladder from a tree on shore to the passenger window of the pickup truck. With a safety line around his waist, Engineer Vaughn made his way across the slippery ladder to the truck. Moments latter, the ladder was snapped and broken by the force of the water and weight of debris that logged behind it, leaving Engineer Vaughn and the children stranded on the truck.
Firefighter Feuer backed the fire truck into the raging water as far as he could to the pickup. He was able to extend another ladder from the fire truck to the pickup so that the children and Engineer Vaughn were able to climb across to shore and safety.