That dramatic rescue from May 28, 2002, is part of a series hosted by country music superstar Tim McGraw dubbed "Quantum Heroes," which highlights the efforts of first responders in crisis situations.
The spot that puts the Fairborn Fire Department in the limelight recalls when then-firefighters Scott Lewis, Laura Kerr and Bob Swick worked together to save 5-month-old Chelsea.
“It brings back the emotions, and you relive the sights, sounds and smells,” said Kerr, who is now a lieutenant with the Fairborn Fire Department. “It marks your soul. It’s part of who you are as you move forward and it makes you want to keep doing it. We’ll give the ultimate sacrifice to a complete stranger, and not give it a second thought.”
In the video released by Duracell on Thursday, there are recreated scenes as well as actual footage from WHIO-TV.
Swick went up a ladder and into the smoky second-floor bedroom of 29 E. Hebble Avenue to scoop Chelsea from her crib. He handed the infant to Lewis, who descended down the ladder while giving the lifeless baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Lewis handed the baby to Kerr, who had received her paramedic certification a couple weeks earlier and was performing her first pediatric resuscitation.
“You see only the key players on that tape, but it was the whole shift working together to make that happen,” Kerr said. “Every firefighter and paramedic was doing their part. You could have interchanged any one of us and the outcome would have been the same. It’s the ultimate team sport.”
Lewis, who is now fire chief in Gresham, Ore., said he and Swick were preparing a donated structure for a live fire training exercise when they received the call.
“Myself and the other firefighters there that day were at the right place, right time, and doing our job,” said Lewis, who was the deputy chief at the time. “I thought we had given her the very best chance to live, and I knew when I handed her off to the paramedics, they’d do everything humanly possible. We were very fortunate and very happy with the outcome.”
Toward the end of the Duracell video, McGraw — a long-time supporter of first responders — reunites Chelsea with Fairborn Fire Chief Mike Riley and Kerr. Riley and Kerr were in New York last month for three days, and Riley didn't know they were there to reunite with Chelsea.
“It was shocking,” said Riley, who was a firefighter with the department in 2002 and was in the bedroom when Swick handed Chelsea to Lewis. “We did not see that coming at all. They set it up that way to surprise us.”
The Greider family now lives in Tennessee and could not be reached for comment.
Lewis said Swick retired from the Fairborn department and teaches firefighter classes at Sinclair Community College. Swick did not return messages seeking comment.
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