EDMONDS — When an elderly Edmonds woman fell ill Feb. 29 she called for medical attention. The 86-year-old then collapsed inside her home before she could unlock the front door for police and fire first responders.
Fire department personnel forced their way into the residence to give the woman aid. The door jam was shattered in the process.
As the emergency medical team stabilized the patient for transport to the hospital, her family began to arrive.
On the scene, Sgt. Ken Poleger made a call to Edmonds Public Works facility and maintenance worker Larry LaFave asking for his expertise in repairing things.
“This happens from time to time,” LaFave said. “The police call when they need our help. Sgt. Poleger could see that the family was distressed.”
LaFave plotted out what tools and parts might be needed to repair the casing to secure the door jam, gathered the items and was on the scene in minutes.
“We’re a small agency,” Poleger said. “We know everybody. Calls like this are not routine, but they have happened over the years. We call when we need them.”
LaFave went about his work, reattached the casing, added some parts and checked the locks so that the door could be shut and secured as the patient was being taken out of her home into the waiting aid car.
“We come across more difficult repairs in city buildings,” LaFave said. “It’s not beyond what is our duty as a city employee. If there is something going on in our city you just jump in and help. That is the kind of city Edmonds is.”
The woman’s daughter was able to go with her mother without a second thought about the home’s security, Poleger said.
“We all realize who we work for,” Poleger said. “We work for the public. Things like this may be out of a job description and our public works and fleet people go above and beyond. That’s why I work in Edmonds.”
Poleger and LaFave have teamed up in the past.
Four years ago police responded to a domestic violence call. The door was knocked down and public works was called before taking the suspect away. LaFave and Dan Housler, another public works employee, took turns finding repair and replacement parts and guarding the door until it could be secured.
The same two public works employees turned crime scene investigators at a shooting scene, tracing a bullet’s path and successfully searching for it in an attic.
LaFave received a “Note of Thanks” from the city for his role in the recent medical emergency.
“That was very unexpected and very unnecessary,” LaFave said. “The daughter was so very thankful and glad she could leave with the aid car.”
The Edmonds resident is doing well, her daughter reports.
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