Ark City First Responders Awarded For Life-Saving Efforts In November

FROM LEFT: Recipients of Critical Save Awards at Tuesday night’s City Commission meeting were Capt. Eric Burr (on behalf of Lt. Anthony Rider); ACPD Officer Madeline Pegorsch; Firefighter-Paramedic Jackson Perez; Firefighter-Emergency Medical Technician Logon French and Capt. Chet Ranzau of the Ark City Fire-EMS Department. (Photos courtesy City of Ark City)

Several employees of the Arkansas City Fire-EMS Department and Arkansas City Police Department were honored Tuesday night with Life Saving Awards, according to a news release from the City of Ark City.

The awards were presented during a City Commission meeting to the personnel involved in administering CPR to and stabilizing a cardiac arrest victim Nov. 6, 2020, at Walmart, 2701 N. Summit St.

Shortly after the patient collapsed and became unresponsive, Police Officer Madeline Pegorsch arrived on scene about 12:43 p.m. and immediately starting performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Ark City Police Department Capt. Eric Burr, right, presents an ACPD Life Saving Award to Police Officer Madeline Pegorsch, left, as City Manager Randy Frazer looks on in the background.

EMS Director Jeri Smith, who was in the store shopping, encountered ACPD Lt. Anthony Rider as she was leaving and he was arriving. He advised her of the situation and she went with him to assist.

Smith relieved Pegorsch and took over CPR until a Fire-EMS Department crew arrived at the scene.

They were able to stabilize the patient and transported him to South Central Kansas Medical Center.

For her efforts, Pegorsch was presented with ACPD’s Life Saving Award on Tuesday night. The following Fire-EMS Department personnel were honored with Critical Save Awards from ZOLL Medical:

  • EMS Director Smith
  • Fire-EMS Capt. Chet Ranzau
  • Firefighter-Paramedic Jackson Perez, for whom this was his first save as a paramedic
  • Firefighter-Paramedic Brandy Rice
  • Firefighter-Emergency Medical Technician Logon French
  • Reserve Emergency Medical Technician Mike Evinger

Pegorsch also received a Critical Save Award and ACPD Capt. Eric Burr accepted a Critical Save Award on Lt. Rider’s behalf. Burr praised Pegorsch for keeping a clear head during the crisis and Interim Fire Chief Les Parks said the incident spoke to the importance of all elements of emergency response.

The Fire-EMS Department’s cardiac equipment is manufactured by ZOLL Medical, which gives Clinical Save certificates and challenge coins in situations when the patient survives events such as this.