LA/OC IAHSS Recognizes Hospital Security Officers for Saving Lives, Outstanding Performances
Award recipient Hector Valdez of Keck Medical Center (center).
On Thursday, May 16, 2019, a Stericycle employee stepped on the top valve of a large gas meter near the Keck Hospital loading dock. As the employee stepped on the valve, the valve broke off, emitting natural gas into the air.
Hector was the first officer on the scene. He immediately requested assistance via radio. As Hector was transmitting, gas was hissing from the valve. He immediately took control of the incident and became acting Incident Commander until ranking officers arrived on the scene.
Hector requested additional officers to respond to the incident and set a perimeter on the north and south sides of the fire lane behind Keck Hospital to halt vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Additionally, Hector requested the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to respond and contain the leak.
Our Public Safety Officers (PSO) responded to the location and blocked off the north and south entry points into the Keck Hospital fire lane. Hector, along with his fellow officers, was able to find the employee who caused the incident and obtain his information. Additional officers responded and diverted all pedestrian traffic away from the loading dock.
Hector was commended for his response to this incident. He showed excellent radio etiquette and discipline relaying vital information to the responding units. The responding officers were able to control the scene and direct LAFD to the loading dock.
Within five minutes of the initial radio broadcast, officers had a perimeter established, diverting pedestrian and vehicular traffic away from the area. LAFD was able to seal off the broken valve within 20 minutes from the initial start of the incident.
Hector’s experience and quick decision-making skills prevented a potential disaster from occurring. He was not afraid to take control of the incident, essentially directing our armed officers to desired locations to block off traffic.
