Energy Northwest's Chief Nuclear Officer Grover Hettel (pictured left) was one of 17 individuals honored with a Lifesaving Award Sept. 28 at the Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Conference in Tacoma, Washington.
Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recognized individuals for acting quickly, decisively and compassionately to identify someone in jeopardy, assess the situation, take action and call-in emergency aid when needed.
“No one wakes up in the morning thinking, ‘Today’s the day I will save a life,’ said Craig Blackwood, assistant director of L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
“When faced with a life-threatening situation, these ordinary people took extraordinary measures to rescue their co-workers and, in some cases, complete strangers. I’m inspired by their stories and thrilled to be honoring these workers,” he said.
Hettel was nominated for the award for his actions to assist an Energy Northwest board member during a choking incident in January. Other workplace heroes honored at the ceremony were: workers who helped extinguish a van fire along a highway and saved the occupants; public utility workers who rescued a person stranded, exhausted and freezing in the snow; a counselor who administered Narcan to save a youth home resident who overdosed; and several workers who performed CPR or used an automated external defibrillator to save lives.
