‘Thank you for running into that danger ’
First responders receive recognition in ceremony at Historic Union Cemetery
Community leaders gathered at Historic Union Cemetery Thursday to honor local law enforcement, firefighters, medical and other emergency personnel in celebration of National First Responders Day.
In front of an audience of about 60 people, some of them first responders in full uniform, speaker after speaker expressed humble gratitude for the work of professionals who place themselves at risk in order to help people in desperate need of help.
“You all deal with people having the crappiest days of their lives, and you do it all the time, day after day,” event emcee Dick Taylor told the crowd.
The event opened with a military-style presentation of colors and included prayers and presentation of certificates of recognition by local elected representatives. It closed with the unveiling of a preview of a monument to be named the Col. Thomas Baker First Responders and Armed Forces Memorial.
Among several touching moments was a speech by Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, who opened by saying those present honor the fallen and those who continue to serve, medical personnel included.
She said peace officers are too often shot and killed doing their jobs, and that she has responded by filing criminal charges against people who try to harm police.
“They are shot at, run over, bit. They have rocks thrown at them,” Zimmer said. “They are crime victims.”
She told of a Wisconsin case in which a firefighter used the drug-overdose medicine Narcan on an unresponsive person who, upon resuscitation, shot and killed the rescuer and a peace officer nearby.
Adding that fighting fires in the Sequoia National Forest has been an especially risky job this year, she said it is her opinion first responders
have the most dangerous job in the community and they should take a moment to recognize just how much they’re appreciated.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she was glad at how much the local community values first responders.
“Thank you for running into that danger,” she said. “Thank you for being first on the scene.”
The chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, Phillip Peters, shared his deep respect for first responders, including some of his friends and family members.
There has been no shortage of challenges for people serving in such positions, he noted, adding that they have unfailingly stepped up to keep members of the community safe.
Kern High School District trustee Jeff Flores said it’s first responders who often must witness lives ending too soon. He thanked them for doing difficult tasks others are not asked to do, saying, “We appreciate you wholeheartedly.”
Three local students, two from Garces Memorial High School and one from Bakersfield High, offered their own reflections on the value of having first responders always at the ready. John Pierre Etcheverry, of Garces, said that when no one will answer the call, first responders can always be counted on.
Bakersfield City Councilman Eric Arias delivered the keynote address after inviting the audience to give another round of applause to first responders assembled for the event.
He recounted being treated for cancer at the age of 21 in a bed at the former San Joaquin Community Hospital, now Adventist Health Bakersfield. Two ambulance drivers entered his room and asked his family to exit for a moment before telling him they “had his back,” and that in a short time they would be driving him as fast as they could to another medical facility where he would receive more specialized attention.
“I think of the times when we ask God to send us an angel,” he said. “He sends us a first responder.”
Centric Health California has pledged money to help pay for the new memorial expected to be installed at the cemetery within a year.
Taylor, a trustee at the nonprofit cemetery, said the memorial is still under design but that the idea is to make it durable and robust, perhaps with open panels bearing the insignias of local first-responder agencies.