Local FF’s praised for kindness shown injured woman, dog, during medical aid call

RIVERSIDE — The jobs firefighters regularly perform are often so extraordinary they are rarely recognized for the sometimes small, but kind, things they do on a daily basis. But one such small and random act of kindness by City of Riverside firefighters today is getting attention in a big way today after officials went “above and beyond the call of duty” for a woman injured at a Riverside home improvement store.

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Firefighters, paramedics, and an AMR ambulance crew were dispatched to Home Depot on the 3000 block of Madison St., earlier today, Monday, Feb. 18, after receiving reports of a woman who was injured after being hit and knocked down by a cart inside the business.

Customers and employees were quick to come to the woman’s aid and helped keep her comfortable, while following directions provided by emergency dispatchers. One customer even cared for the victim’s dog, until firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene and took over care.

After evaluating the victim, medics determined the woman had possibly sustained a broken arm and required hospitalization. However, the victim was concerned about who would care for her dog and how it – and her car – would get home.

Without hesitation, firefighters stepped up and offered to not only make sure her pooch made it home safely, they also offered to drive her car to her home, so it would be there for her when she was released from the hospital after being treated.

As word of firefighters’ simple act of kindness spread on social media, people were quick to chime in and thank the officials for the quality of care and compassion they showed the victim.

“What they done might not have been heroic,” Tim Stevenson later told RCNS, “but those guys definitely did a great thing today and in my opinion went way above and beyond the call of duty.”

Countless would surely agree, and as one enthusiastic fan wrote on social media, “Fantastic Job RFD!”

SEE OTHER “RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS” STORIES:

Hemet man’s kindness praised after helping young mom

RAOK: Homeless soldier’s sign offering his resume has community talking

A Veteran’s Day story: How a teenager’s act of kindness saved a young girl’s day

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.