Elkhart honors fire and EMS crews for June shooting response; multiple unit citations and commendations approved

The Elkhart City Board of Public Safety on Sept. 23 applauded and approved multiple awards for fire and EMS personnel for their response to a June 15 shooting at 246 West Garfield Avenue.

A Fire Department representative (speaker 5) told the board the scene “was described as a war zone,” with roughly 250 people present and reports that 12 people were shot. The presentation credited medic and squad crews for stabilizing and transporting patients under aggressive, crowd‑control conditions and recommended unit citations and individual commendations for multiple employees, including a proposed meritorious service medal for Captain Scott Khalil.

The presentation named several personnel for commendation or unit awards, including lieutenant Amado Tanguma, medic crews (medic 24, medic 25), driver operators Bartlett and Spencer Berkshire, lieutenant Rick Bacola, firefighter Dan Burns, squad 1 and squad 2 crews, battalion chief Scott Smeltzer, and others. The presenter said driver operators Bartlett and Berkshire “successfully innovated [sic] treatment of a gunshot wound to the head” while fending off attempts to steal a cot and an ambulance, and singled out firefighter Casey Phillips for removing an agitated person from a running ambulance to protect patients and paramedics.

Board members accepted the awards committee’s recommendations and called the recipients forward for photos and applause. The board placed the commendations on the record; no vote tally beyond a voice vote was recorded in the transcript.