Perrysburg Township: Rescue workers honored for service

3/4/2004

Perrysburg Township firefighters and emergency medical service personnel were awarded the Dr. Frank Foss EMS Excellence Award last month for their role in an accident in which five members of the township's fire and police departments were hurt when a car struck them as they tried to help victims of a separate accident.

The accident, which was March 31 on I-75 north of State Rt. 795, left two police officers, two EMS personnel, and a firefighter hurt as they tried to extricate two people trapped in a van.

Honored were Deputy Chief Tom Brice, Capt. Keith Feeney, Jim Rodriguez, Chad Merrick, Steve Merrick, Steve Harrison, James McNeal, Dave Kozina, Troy Bernhard, and Eric Schmidt.

Mr. Feeney, a firefighter, along with Mr. Bernhard and Mr. Schmidt, both EMS personnel, were injured.

Dr. Foss, who died in 2001, was a longtime Toledo surgeon credited with upgrading emergency medicine locally and bringing the Life Flight helicopter service to Toledo.