AURORA | Aurora firefighter Capt. Siegfried Klein helped save a 4-year-old girl’s life on a warm summer evening last May. That day was unusual because Klein was wearing swimming trunks instead of a fireman’s suit.
Klein was honored with the community service award Feb. 6 at the annual Aurora Fire Department awards ceremony, but doing good deeds while off-duty isn’t a unique to him alone.
Klein vividly remembers the day he helped save a young girl who nearly drowned in a pool. He was celebrating his daughter’s 3rd birthday with some friends at the Shenandoah neighborhood pool when he heard a blood-curdling scream. It was his neighbor, pulling Maya Henderson out of the pool.
“She was blue and looked pretty lifeless to me, so I did a quick assessment. She wasn’t breathing, and I didn’t find a pulse,” Klein said.
In his swimsuit, Klein switched from spending a day at the pool to directing a group effort that saved Henderson’s life.
He told his friend, a pediatric nurse, to start chest compressions. He watched as water gushed out of Henderson’s mouth and nose. Klein’s wife comforted Henderson’s mother as the pediatric nurse performed several more chest compressions.
“By the seventh one, I see Maya’s mouth and lip move, and I turned her on her side,” she said.
Klein gave Henderson a couple of back blows to get rid of the rest of the water she inhaled, and she finally opened her eyes.
“All the steps fell into place to have a successful rescue,” Klein said. Henderson spent the night at the hospital and the next day she returned home.
Klein was one of dozens of firefighters recognized at the Feb. 6 awards ceremony, including firefighters whose heroism after the July 20 theater massacre set them apart in 2012. Klein said he’s proud to be a small part of a fire department comprised of courageous firefighters.
“There were a lot of outstanding acts of exceptional service in our community, above and beyond the call of duty in the past year in Aurora, and I feel honored to be in the presence of those guys,” he said.
Aurora residents should know they’re in good hands, Klein said.
“Every day, whether we’re on duty or off duty, firefighters in Aurora and neighbors that serve in all medical services and at the hospital are always there to serve the citizens,” he said, “whether they’re in uniform or in a bathing suit.”
Firefighters never really have days off, said Aurora Fire Chief Mike Garcia at the awards ceremony.
“They are on duty 24-7,” he said. “They are well trained to handle emergencies while maintaining a cool demeanor under stress, and that’s why they make good neighbors and good role models.”
They’re also good neighbors because they’re willing to help people out in all types of situations.
Late last year, Battalion Chief Joe Rockwell was cooking dinner at his fire station near Horizon Park in southern Aurora when a young boy rang the doorbell. The boy told Rockwell that his mother’s car broke down.
“I brought them in and went to look at the car,” Rockwell said. One of the radiator hoses was held together with duct tape, and it was leaking fluid.
“I asked (the mother) what had gone on, and she said her husband always took care of the car and he hadn’t been able to take care of it recently,” Rockwell said.
He found out later that her husband died unexpectedly just a few weeks before the car broke down.
The six firefighters at the station sprung to action.
They brought the mother’s car into the garage while Rockwell went out for replacement car parts. Firefighter Scott Burgan taught the 12-year-old son how to change tires while firefighter Chris Stuft fixed the car.
After their work was done, they sat down to eat dinner. The group looks back on that time as just another part of the job.
“We really didn’t do anything that any other firefighter in the city of Aurora wouldn’t have done,” said Capt. Mike Stanley.
Stanley said Aurora residents see fire stations as a place where help is given to those who need it, and that’s a good thing.
“I think the fire department over the past few decades has really demonstrated their desire and ability to help the community,” he said. “So that people know if they ring that doorbell, they’re not going to get turned away.”
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.