Inspector Mark Spears

Lehigh Acres Fire Chief Donald Adams has sent out a memo to all the employees of the agency honoring two employees who saved the life of a Lehigh woman last week after her car plunged into a canal and disappeared under the water.

Adams said Lt. Matthew Kreft who heads B Shift at Station 104 at 3102 16th ST. SW notified him that Inspector Mark Spears and Firefighter Frank Alvarez were deserving of recognition for their “heroic actions” on a call that occurred last Tuesday.

On Aug. 24, a young woman was having a severe medical problem, Kreft said, and she was just across from the fire station when she and her automobile ended up in the canal in front of the station.

Spears was teaching a class at Station 104 that day and Alvarez was assigned to Engine 104 with Engineer Callahan and Lt. Kreft.

When the car ended up in the canal, bystanders came running to the fire house and knocked on the door to tell them that a woman had driven into the canal.

Firefighter Frank Alvarez

Kreft said that within seconds, he and Engineer Callahan were pulling the engine out onto the road to gain access.

In the meantime, Spears had run across the street and was already in the water and was tugging at the woman to pull her out as the car was sinking fast.

“It was a very deep canal,” Spears said. “And the water was very dark and it was cold.”

He said he screamed for her to open the door but she didn’t move. Spears said she appeared to be in shock. He was able to get through the window to open the door and when he did, he said water started rushing in fast making the car sink even faster.

“Her hands were grasping the steering wheel and I couldn’t get her to release them and she was just starring ahead. I know she had to be in shock.

“I grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands from the steering wheel and pulled her out as the car went under,” Spears said.

In the meantime, Firefighter Alvarez was on the scene and he dove into the water to see if there were any passengers such as children or others inside the car. He said he did not see any.

The woman was pulled to the shore of the canal where both men immediately began emergency medical treatment.

Why the woman lost control of the car was not known by the two men but they said the Florida Highway Patrol was called and they investigated the mishap, but by the end of the week, the Florida Highway Patrol confirmed they had investigated the accident but a report had not been filled out so the name of the woman was not available for comment.

Spears said when he dove in, the woman was definitely trapped in the car and that the vehicle was about 90 percent submerged.

Lt. Kreft said he made a decision to drive around the block to the other side of the canal where better access could be gained for patient removal from the water and to initiate treatment.

By the time they had gotten to the other side of the canal, Kreft said Spears had already pulled her out of the car with Alvarez assisting.

“By now the car was completely submerged and we began initiating emergency medical care,” Kreft said.

The patient was transported to Lehigh Regional Medical Center in stable condition.

Kreft said he had no doubt that the quick actions of Inspector Spears and Firefighter Alvarez “were the deciding factor in that woman making it out of that car alive.”

“It is for these reasons I would like to congratulate the both of them on a job well done and submit a letter of accommodation to the chief,” Kreft said.

Chief Adams she he was proud of what the men had done.

“It is the great training we have here that made this possible,” he said.

In the memorandum sent to all the fire stations to be posted, Adams said it was to recognize Fire Inspector Mark Spears and Firefighter Frank Alvarez “who took heroic measures to save the life of a young woman after her automobile was submerged in the canal across the street from Station 104.”

“These heroic measures resulted in saving the young woman’s life at the risk of grave injury to the two men,” Adams said.