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Delta Valley 821

Delta Valley 821 to the rescue

Firefighters respond after Delta Valley 821 members leapt into action to save a family when their house caught on fire.

Members leap into action to save lives from house fire

Members from Delta Valley Chapter 821 in Stockton sprang to the rescue January 14 when a house across the street from Harrison Elementary School caught on fire during a busy school day.

As soon as they heard a noon duty supervisor yell “Fire!”, members Melissa Powers and Alisia Lopez evacuated students from nearby classrooms. At the same time, member Anthony Thomas and Labor Relations Representative Mauricio Vides called 911.

“As I was on the phone, I radioed our school office to let them know what was going on across the street,” recalled Thomas, a campus security officer.

Truancy outreach specialists Markis Scrivens and Sally Forgach, who were driving by at the time, ran to the burning house after they noticed smoke.

“As I was on the phone, I radioed our school office to let them know what was going on across the street.”
- Anthony Thomas, campus security officer

“I am used to high-risk situations,” Scrivens said. “I understand the value of assessing the situation and managing the environment.”

Scrivens hopped a wrought-iron fence that was locked from the inside to help a woman and her grandchild who were in the house, then broke open the locked fence so they could escape to safety since the grandmother didn’t know how to unlock it.

“I was compelled when I saw the mother, grandmother, and child screaming and crying at the top of their lungs for help,” Scrivens added. “This was a call to action. I feel like God put us in the right place at the right time to ensure the safety for that family.”

The fence had a rolling gate at the driveway, which took the brute force of Scrivens, Thomas, Forgach and Vides to rip open.

Truancy outreach specialist Mark Scrivens stands in front of the house from where he saved a family after it caught on fire.

Meanwhile, after Powers, a senior special ed technician, and Lopez, a translator/interpreter specialist, evacuated students, they kept street traffic moving to keep a path clear for responding firetrucks.

“I am very proud to say that we are all well trained, well organized and we know who our priority is: our students, their families, the community and each other,” Lopez said.

Thomas emphasized that it was not just his response but those of his school community that saved lives that day.

“Every individual that was present played a role in the life of this family."
- Sally Forgach, truancy outreach specialist

“I would like to say that my efforts were not alone and if it was not for the quick response of the Harrison team, I would not be able to do my job,” he said. “We as members, community investors, must always remember we are here to service our children and, no matter what is going on in the world, we still need to help one another when tragedy strikes."

In this situation, CSEA members, staff from Harrison Elementary School, the fire department and other community members all collaborated to help the family.

“Every individual that was present played a role in the life of this family,” Forgach said. “Thank you to everyone for helping on that day and thereafter. This was not just about the truancy outreach team's lifesaving efforts. That day, a community came together and helped the family.”

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