Flagler County Commissioners recognized Flagler County Fire Rescue personnel for several recent out-of-hospital resuscitations and accepted five National Association of Counties (NACO) achievement awards awarded to county departments.

Deputy Fire Chief Percy Sales presented lifesaving awards to multiple crews who used advanced life support and automated CPR devices in separate cardiac-arrest calls. Sales credited early 911 activation, bystander CPR, early defibrillation and advanced resuscitation as components of the “chain of survival,” then read nomination details for each crew. He said one patient “walked out of the hospital” three days after a resuscitation and another pediatric patient “is back in school now.”

Sales described four distinct responses: two crews from Rescue 52 responding to a 59-year-old male in cardiac arrest; a Rescue 51/Engine 57 team responding to a 60-year-old woman in cardiac arrest; Rescue 24 with Battalion 40 responding to another cardiac arrest that returned spontaneous circulation; and Rescue Supervisor Jared Lanza and firefighter Eduardo Torres responding to a critically ill 14‑year‑old who later recovered sufficiently to return to school. Sales noted county investments such as automated CPR (LUCAS) devices — one carried on every truck — and recent staffing additions as contributing factors.

County communications manager Karen Callahan told the board Flagler County won five NACO awards this year across multiple departments: two health awards for Fire Rescue (including the on‑truck camera monitoring system and a therapy dog program), an information‑technology award for a beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone waiver, a parks-and-recreation award for an immersive “Walk in the Park” program, and an emergency-management award for a volunteer program. Callahan also reported three awards from the National Association for County Information Officers (NACIO), including recognition for a Flagler County podcast and coverage of the FAA waiver.

Commissioners and staff took group photos with award recipients and firefighters. Chair Andy Dance thanked Fire Rescue and other departments for their work and noted recent budget decisions that provided staffing and equipment the department credited in the lifesaving cases.

The board did not take formal policy action in this agenda item; the presentations and award acceptances were recognitions and did not require a vote.

For more detail on the individual crews and the county’s equipment investments, see the provenance excerpts from the meeting transcript.