Officer

California Highway Patrol

10/15/2003

Special Act Award (Gold)

California Highway Patrol Officer James Gaffney, on October 15, 2003, performed an act of heroism at risk to his personal safety in an attempt to rescue a victim from a burning vehicle. At 5:20 a.m., Officer Gaffney was riding his departmental motorcycle to work on northbound I-405, when he noticed a collision in the southbound lanes of the freeway. One of the vehicles sustained extensive rear-end damage and was engulfed in flames. Officer Gaffney stopped his motorcycle, jumped the center divider and ran to the burning vehicle, where he found two on-duty paramedics attempting to extinguish the flames. The unconscious, injured driver was trapped inside the vehicle with flames rapidly approaching him from behind. Officer Gaffney attempted to open the driver’s door; however, it was jammed by the collision. With the heat and intensity of the fire increasing and the fire department nowhere in sight, Officer Gaffney enlisted the paramedics to help him pull the driver out of the vehicle through the shattered driver’s side window. Despite repeated attempts over several minutes, they were unable to extricate the driver from the crumpled dashboard and steering wheel. The flames now raged through the passenger compartment of the vehicle, igniting the driver’s seat and forcing back the rescuers. Officer Gaffney gathered fire extinguishers from commercial truckers at the scene, and with the assistance of a bystander, sprayed the flames around the driver and rallied the paramedics to make another attempt to save the driver. With his entire upper torso in the vehicle, Officer Gaffney worked to pry the driver from the wreckage. At this time, the gas tank ignited, causing flames to surge forward and ignite the driver’s back and arms. Despite the searing heat and smoke from the flames, Officer Gaffney and the paramedics did not give up. They placed their safety aside and kept pulling, until they finally dislodged the burning driver. Officer Gaffney smothered the flames on the driver and helped carry him to a place of safety. He then remained with and comforted the driver, until responding emergency personnel arrived at the scene. The vehicle was soon fully engulfed in flames. The driver sustained second and third degree burns to 30 percent of his body, as well as fractures to his clavicle and lumbar spine. Despite the heroic efforts led by Officer Gaffney, the driver subsequently passed away. Due to the heroism, care and commitment with which he treated the driver; Officer Gaffney was invited to attend his funeral service. The driver’s family expressed their heartfelt appreciation to Officer Gaffney for all his efforts. They were grateful Officer Gaffney saved their family member from burning to death, as this allowed them and his friends to see him one last time before his interment.