Grandview Heights honors retiring officer Mark Biba and awards EMS crews after multiple life‑saving responses

Grandview Heights honored longtime law enforcement and community volunteer Mark Biba and presented EMS Unit Combination Awards to several fire/EMS crews at the June 8 city council meeting.

Chief Starnes praised Biba’s decades of service to Grandview Heights, noting that Biba enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974 and joined the Grandview Heights Division of Police in 1980. "Mark officially retired in 2012 after 32 years of dedicated and honorable service," the chief said, and commended Biba’s continued volunteer work as an auxiliary officer in the years since.

The council and mayor recognized Biba for his record of public service and thanked his family for their support.

The council also presented EMS Unit Combination Awards to multiple crews for three notable, documented incidents:

• April 27, 2025 — A young motorcyclist suffered catastrophic injuries in a collision in front of Moto Yoga on Dublin Road in Columbus. EMS Engine 51/Medic 51 stabilized and transported the patient to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; surgeons later said the case had a very low survival rate, yet the patient later returned to thank the crew. Award recipients listed in the citation include Lane Berlin, Joshua Hall, Jonathan Grama, Joshua Harris and Michael McKenzie.

• September 21, 2025 — Engine and Medic 51 responded to an out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest at Lavee Nail Spa on Grandview Avenue. The medic crew delivered defibrillation, established IV access, and coordinated rapid transport; the patient regained circulation and later made a full recovery, according to the award citation. Named members included Serena Escobar, Merle Netters, Lane Berlin, Jonathan Grama and Joshua Hall.

• December 14, 2025 — Medic crews responded to a resident with chest pain that progressed to repeated cardiac arrest. The citation records extensive resuscitation efforts, including 23 defibrillations, multiple medications, and rapid transport to Riverside Methodist Hospital; the patient survived and later visited the firehouse with family to thank the crew. Recipients included Merle Nethers, Joshua Hall, Lane Berlin, Jonathan Grama and Robert Stultz.

Mayor Greta Kearns and the fire chief joined presenters in reading the official citations and invited family members and crews to photograph the awards.

The recognition reflects the department’s emphasis on advanced life support training and coordinated prehospital care; officials said such awards highlight the teamwork and decisive interventions that produce survivals in cases that otherwise have low survival odds.