Lodi-born firefighter honored at State of the Union for Whittier Fire rescue effort
While he was still a student at
"I got hired by the forest service in 2004, and I knew right away that that's where I wanted to be. I kept going down that road, and eventually became a fire prevention technician," Dahlberg said.
As a fire prevention technician, Dahlberg takes the Smokey Bear mascot to schools, parades and other events to educate children about fire safety. But when USFS firefighters are dispatched to a fire, he said, he is right there with them, helping in any way he can.
This was the case on
"Once we heard that people were still at the campground, no one knew how many there were, or what the situation was. We needed someone up there to see what he situation was and how to get the people out," Dahlberg said.
Dahlberg navigated his smaller truck, equipped with a hose and water supply, up the dirt road and trail to the campground that larger vehicles were unable to safely reach.
He was greeted by
"I met with Ray, and the first words out of his mouth were: 'I am so happy to see you.' His next words were: 'Can we leave?' I answered 'No,' because the roads were unsafe. I told him to keep the kids up there, they were very safe up there," Dahlberg said.
With all of the children and counselors accounted for, the group waited for approximately three hours until a bulldozer owned by
While Dahlberg helped the bulldozer operator and the second firefighter hold the flames at bay, the children were loaded into 11 search and rescue vehicles and some of the counselors' personal vehicles, Dahlberg said, before they headed down the mountain.
"The 'dozer headed up 'The Snake,' the caravan that led all the kids out. If there were any rocks or debris in the way, it could lower its blade and clear them out of the way while it kept moving. We all made our way down the road: The 'dozer, the kids, the counselors and then the fire vehicles. That was our 'Snake,'" Dahlberg said.
Once the convoy reached the highway, two buses supplied by a local casino took the children to the
In addition to receiving the Regional Foresters' Honor Award for his efforts that day, Dahlberg was honored at the State of the Union address in
"The Vice President had my phone in his hand, he was the one who took the picture. One of the first things he said was: 'I take a mean selfie,' so I put him to the test and he passed. I'm still coming down from that high," Dahlberg said.
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