Eight young Calgarians were recognized Friday for using quick, calm thinking to appropriately dial 911 at the 911 Heroes Awards.
Each hero was nominated by the emergency communications officer who was on the other end of the phone.
“You called 911 for someone who was not having the best day of their life, maybe even having the worst day of their life,” Calgary 911 Acting Cmdr. Doug Odney said. “You served as the link between them and the help they needed.”
Andrea Lafont, 15, was in a car with her three-year-old cousin when a man stole the vehicle, unaware the pair were inside.
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“I kinda blanked, I kinda just went into shock,” she said.
“I didn’t know what to expect… All I was thinking about was getting my baby cousin out of the car.”
When the man noticed, he pulled over and told them to get out. The teen then called 911.
She said she was thinking: “Grab my baby cousin, grab the dog, phone and get out.”
Emergency communications officer Jennifer Bowmen was the voice on the other end of the line when Andrea called.
“She just kinda told me if I could find an adult around me to figure out where I am … what my surroundings were,” Andrea said.
Bowmen said Andrea was “super calm.”
“I can’t believe, after realizing what she’d been through, that she was able to be that calm and give that much information. I can’t even imagine as an adult not wanting to freak out, so the fact that she was able to do that with a three-year-old with her was pretty impressive.”
Honouring the young heroes was in partnership with the Calgary Fire Department, Calgary Police Department and Emergency Medical Services (AHS) and the EMS Foundation.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW) runs April 9 to 15 and is a time to recognize emergency communications officers.
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