(VANCOUVER, WA) -- Last week, Clatskanie PUD Line Working Foreman Lonnie Marcum and Journeyman Lineman Darin Welter received the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) Safety Heroism Award at the association’s 2016 Engineering & Operations Conference on April 14, 2016, in Spokane, Wash.
Marcum was on hand to accept the award at on behalf of himself and his co-worker.
During a flooding event on December 9, 2015, Marcum and Welter were flagged down by a local resident on Hwy 30 in Clatskanie, Ore. They were informed that someone was out in the flood waters and had been yelling for help.
The linemen quickly drove up Lost Creek Road as far as possible until the water stopped them. They couldn’t see anyone or a car in the water, but they could hear Richard Forrest yelling for help and they began to talk to him.
The linemen waded out in the water and could then see Forrest clinging to a tree. They continued out into the deep water where they were up to their necks and treading water to stay afloat themselves as they tried to get closer. Using rescue techniques from their safety trainings, they made several attempts to get a rope to Forrest so that they could get him out of the water. After a few throws of the rope, they connected and were able to safely pull him to the shallow water. The linemen helped him out of the water and to the care of emergency responders from the Clatskanie Fire Department who had just arrived on the scene.
Although they were able to save Mr. Forrest from the flood water, Marcum and Welter were saddened that they couldn’t reach Mrs. Forrest as she was trapped in the car under 10 to 12 feet of water at the time.
