Coppell firefighters honored

Written by Phil Cerroni

By Amanda Casanova 

Six firefighters from Fire Station No. 3 were honored at the Dec. 11 Coppell City Council meeting.

Capt. Michael McDowell, engineer Sam Thomason, and paramedics Chris Leech,

Jarrod Dean, John Knight and Preston Nickelson were awarded the Life Saving Award from the City after the men saved a Coppell man who suffered cardiac arrest.

On Aug. 16, Thomas Morgan went to sit down, and when his wife went to check on him, Morgan was unresponsive, Fire Chief Kevin Richardson said.

Firefighters arrived and started life support procedures. Morgan was not breathing and did not have a pulse. He was revived and taken to the hospital.

“Because of their actions, Morgan was successfully revived from cardiac arrest and made a full recovery,” Richardson said. “This is an extremely proud day for me to present this award.”

At the Council meeting, Morgan’s son called the firefighters “heroes” and thanked them for their help.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about cardiac arrest, and how critical it is when it happens and what you do,” he said. “Because of their efforts, my dad stands here today with no side effects. He’s as ornery as he’s ever been.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Morgan’s family also donated $2,500 to the Fill the Boot program, which supports the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“We are honored every day to have such great people that work for the City and care so much about our citizens,” Mayor Karen Hunt said.