They are former Bingham High School students who were in the right place at the right time and just happened to have the right skills to help.
On this episode of the Supercast, hear how one man is alive today thanks, in part, to some teens who didn’t hesitate to help a stranger in need. And, find out why the teens credit skills they learned in the JATC South Fire Science program for their success in saving a life.
Audio Transcription
Rolling on the ground in pain 'cause like his burns are so bad.
And that training kicking in, like in a fire instance, somebody being exposed to fire like that, that is the difference between life and death.
I'm sure that you guys have heard the word hero associated with this.
From our perspective, like we just did what anyone would have done if they were there.
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are former Bingham High School students who were in the right place at the right time and just happened to have the right skills to help.
On this episode of the Supercast, hear how one man is alive today, thanks in part to some teens who didn't hesitate to help a stranger in need, and find out why the teens give credit to the JATC South Fire Science Program for their success in saving a life.
We're talking now with my friend, Brenna Miller, recent graduate of Bingham High School, current student at BYU, and someone who was recently involved in quite an amazing experience. Tell me a little bit about what happened in this life-saving event.
Okay, so me and my friends is me, and then Brandon Lockhart, Zach Peterson, James Brown, and Nathan Gillett, and we all graduated from Bingham. We've all been good friends since middle school. We've all gone our ways. We went up Butterfield Canyon, Middle Canyon, same thing, and we were just going to do a little campfire, kind of hang out. We go up there a lot, so we went to do s'mores. We just hang out there a lot.
It's somewhere you go frequently with friends.
Yeah, and we'll just go have a little campfire, make s'mores, super fun. So we were up there. There was just a couple of us, not our whole friend group. There was five, and we were making a fire. We had been there for a couple hours, and it was packed. It was hard to find anywhere, any campsite up there, 'cause there's people everywhere. And everyone was riding ATVs and yelling. Just lots going on, very lively, more than normal.
And so we were just chilling, and then it kind of started to get dark, and more people kept driving by, and we were like, "Oh, this is so fun.” And then we kind of started hearing someone start yelling, but it was kind of quiet, sounded kind of far away. And most of us were like, "Okay." There's people yelling everywhere. We were out of campsite next to a bunch of other teenagers that had been yelling all night, and we were like, "Okay." But one of my friends--
Had you camped overnight, and is this in the morning, or when is this happening?
This is probably at 10 p.m., and we were gonna leave at midnight, go back home. But we heard yelling, and we all kind of brushed it off, except for one of my friends. He's very into survival and camping. He's very prepared, all that kind of stuff, and he was like, "We're going," and he's waiting.
Yeah. All these kids went to Bingham, so all Bingham graduates.
Yeah. And so he literally runs, he gets in his car, and we were like, "Okay, I guess we're going."
And this is just hearing screams and yells from a distance in the midst of a lot of other noise and screams.
Yeah, and so the rest of us are like, "Mm, all right, whatever." But James is adamant that we're going to go check it out. He's like, "Someone needs help."
And at this point, do you still wonder whether they actually need help based on the sound?
Yeah, especially 'cause it seems far, and it's like, I don't know, it didn't really seem like it was that big of a deal. It wasn't like screaming for their life 'cause it was so far away. So we hop in the car and leave our fire and everything and drive super fast, get over there, and we see that there's a car kind of in front of a campsite that has hazards on, and we're like, "Okay, that's obviously where we're trying to go." And so we pull in in the car, and immediately you can tell, actually something is very wrong. There's a woman bent over on the ground, and we're like, "Oh my gosh," and she's leaning over her husband, and he looks like he had a heart attack or something. He's laying on the ground, just not moving.
And how far away was this from the car? Where you pulled up?
We just drove over the grass and just went right back there, but it was probably 50 yards from the road. So it was deeper back, but we just took the car all the way in, and then one of our friends Zach, he had just graduated from JTech with getting his EMT license, and so he's locked in, ready to go, runs over there. We're like, "Maybe this guy's had a heart attack." It's hard to explain, but it was like, no one even talked about it. Everyone just spread out and just started doing something.
Yeah, so Zach and James went over to try and obviously see what was going on. We thought maybe he had a heart attack, and that's why he was on the ground, 'cause we couldn't really tell. But once you walked up, you could really see his clothes were all burnt, his skin was very burnt. You could smell it. It was pretty bad.
Nathan went to go and try and talk to his wife, kinda see what happened, but she was obviously in a big crisis and couldn't really focus, couldn't really talk very much, but she was very concerned about their dog had run away. All in the process, but obviously she's just in complete shock. So Nathan's trying to talk to her, trying to help her find the dog, kind of be a distraction and stuff.
Me and Brandon, our other friend, we start running. I run out to the road to try and talk to anyone, 'cause there's no cell signal. And so we're like, "We can't really call 911 "because we can't call anyone." And so we try and run out to the road to see if anyone that's driving by maybe has service for some reason. And then our other friends ran back to our campsite to just get everything, 'cause we were like, "We gotta go and go put the fire out and stuff."
So Zach was talking to him, trying to understand. We didn't know what happened. Even the whole, after the whole thing the whole night, we still had no idea what had really happened. But he was trying to talk to him, see if he's breathing, what we can do.
We actually did have a lot of help. Some other people from other campsites, a woman came over and gave us a flashlight, so we didn't have a flashlight. And some other people from different campsites came and brought a first-aid kit so we could try and wrap up his hands and stuff, 'cause they were the most burnt. But, so a lot of people did come to help, but everyone was like, "I have to go back to my kids. "I have people here," and whatever. And we were like, "That's okay."
So we tried to talk to his wife and figure out what we should do, 'cause we were like, "He obviously needs "to go to the hospital immediately." And she was obviously just still in shock. We were like, "Okay, we're just gonna take him. "We'll take him, we'll take you. "We'll all drive down." But there wasn't room in the car. And so she was like, "I'm just gonna stay here." It turns out after the fact that they lived right at the bottom of the canyon. So their house was super close by and their children were there.
I got her contact information and we ended up going and getting him into the car. We're picking him up, putting him in the car, wrapped his hand, and we all just slammed into the car and drove down the canyon. And in that time, even though I couldn't call 911--
Was he still unconscious?
He was conscious, but not very responsive. He was alive and conscious breathing, but couldn't really talk very much. He was rolling on the ground in pain, 'cause the burns were so bad. And so we got everyone in the car. And in that time, I had, even though we couldn't call 911, like Apple's new update, you can like text them via satellite. So that was great. Plug for Apple. So I had been like texting with someone from the Tooele hospital the whole time and been like, "We're coming. We need someone there. We're bringing in someone."
I have to admit, I never would have thought to text 911.
I was just thinking of anything. But so we like, fly down the canyon, right? We're trying to get to the hospital, but like we don't have any service, so we can't look at maps that we don't know where it is. But we're just like, well, we're gonna get there.
Getting down there as fast as you can.
Yeah, so we get down there and we get to the hospital and we end up--
Now we get down there and we get to the hospital. Once you got out of the canyon, now you've got a signal and you figure out where it is.
Yeah, so then we like, look on maps, we get to the hospital, it's really close by. And luckily this was like their local hospital, so that was convenient. And so we like go into the ER and they start trying to talk to us and we're like, “We have no idea. We don't know his name, we don't know what happened, we don't know like how.” We're like, we just got there and this was happening.” So yeah, “Here he is, please take care of him.” It was crazy then, we just like drove home. It was like, okay. They were like, “You guys can go, we'll take care of it.” We were like, “Okay.” And then we just left and we were like, wow.
What was the conversation as you're leaving, going home?
Yeah, we're in the car driving home, we're like, “Wow, that was crazy. Like, we just, that was wild. Like he was not okay and we just witnessed that.” But we kind of talked about, we were like, someone brought it up, they were like, “you think we saved his life?” And we were like, “I don't think so.” Like we knew that it was bad, but we like, and everyone was like very much in like, I don't know, like not survival instincts, but like just going fast, doing everything we could. But I don't think we had actually thought about like,
You hadn't stopped to process.
Yeah, like was he gonna be okay, you know? But we were like, “Wow, that was so crazy.” But what ended up happening was the next couple of days, I was still in contact with his wife and she was like, kinda told me what was going on, how he was doing. And then she was like, “We left all of our stuff, like up at the canyon. 'Cause they had like full setup.
They had left, the family had left all their stuff.
Yeah, they had like a trailer and like all this stuff, like tents and everything. 'Cause they were, their kids were gonna come up the next day. And so they had everything set up and she's like, “We just left it, like, I don't know if it's okay, I don't know if it's still there, like can you go check?” So, I was like, “Okay.”
And so me and my friends went back in the car, drove back up there the next day to like make sure that all our stuff was good and kind of packed stuff up. And then we really didn't hear much about what was going on. Like we kind of got updates occasionally about like, you know, this day he was like being with this doctor and things went well and that sort of thing. But we didn't really contact them until we went up, we ended up getting a citation at the state level, which is really cool. A good citation.
Not the bad kind, but the good kind. So we got to like go up when they were like in session and they like talked about us and gave us certificates. And so now we have like a little citation and the family ended up coming to that. So that was the first time we had seen them since then.
So how did it feel to talk with them after that, after you'd been through that? Fight or flight, survival mode, emergency mode, conversations, and then you get to see them in a very different scene.
Yeah, it was definitely interesting. Like, what do you say to someone in that situation? You know, like, you're like, “Hi, how are you?” Like, I don't know, you know, we've been in like such a vulnerable time, but we don't know each other.
So obviously like they were very grateful and like so kind and they were like, “Thank you so much.” They had said that like, if it would have been like a couple minutes later, like they think his airways would have closed up and it would have died. Which was crazy 'cause we were like, “Wow, maybe we should have gone even faster. Like, we were--
Well, law enforcement actually did indicate that you saved his life.
Which is so crazy. But yeah, so we kind of talked to them there. And I don't know, it's such an interesting dynamic. Like, I don't know, it's kind of strange to talk to someone but it's like, you've seen each other in such a vulnerable state.
And that's the only way you know them.
Yeah, and then it was like--
Because most of the time, if you're helping someone, you're gonna be helping someone that you know, a friend, someone that you are around anyway.
Yeah, and then we're all like there, like in suit and tie and dresses. And it's like, it was just different. But he was doing really well, like, was healing really well. So they're really grateful but--
How much time was there between the incident and then the citation?
Um, four months, three or four months. 'Cause I was in June and the citation was in September, or August, end of August.
Yeah, he was doing really well. So it was crazy, but it was like, yeah.
Everyone listening is wondering what happened to the dog. Did you find the dog?
The dog, it was okay. It actually, we did find it. Shout out Nathan. He went and found the dog. All was well.
I love that you each kind of mobilized in a different direction. I'm gonna go find the dog, we're gonna help the man who is injured and in distress and needs to get to the hospital. You're gonna text 911. Now I know.
If you’re in the mountains and you don't have a signal–
Anthony Godfrey:
Hopefully, I don't need that information–
–but it feels good to have it.
And so now, how do you think this has changed? Has this changed your perspective on things?
I mean, it was definitely like very crazy experience and just like, but that could have been anyone. Like, he just stood up and like ended up having seizure and just fell into the fire.
Had he had seizures previously?
Like, only really recently. He had a doctor's appointment the following week to go see why that had happened. But it just kind of was like just bad timing that it happened right as he was like standing over the fire.
So, but I think it helped me realize like, someone has to do it. Like, someone has to step in and like, I don't know. I think you should. There's no reason.
We do training for classrooms and we did maybe, it was maybe eight years ago. And what I remember from the training we received from first responders is “Do something.” Don't stand around and think, “Oh, there's an expert coming soon that can really help.”
And that's what you guys did. You dove in and I mean, you had Zach who had some training specific to this situation, but everyone dove in and did what they could in the moment and saved a life as a result. But too often we wait and think, “Oh, I don't wanna make a mistake. I don't wanna mess up.” Or maybe “Someone's scamming me”, instead of just diving into help.
Yeah. And I don't know. I mean, it definitely helped a lot that Zach like had that training and like had that knowledge, which shout out JTech, that's sweet. The high school kids, knowing how to do big things.
Exactly. JATC, bringing it home.
Seriously, like what we did was things that required no training. It was like, we talked to people, we got into the car, we drove, like those things anyone could have done. We looked for the dog. We talked to his wife, you know, like things that required no training. It just like needed people.
And not criticizing anybody around them, but there were other people closer that had not jumped into action.
Yeah, which is fair. It didn't seem-
You guys came from where you were and did everything that you could.
Yeah, which I'm glad we heard them.
Stay with us. When we come back, we'll talk with the Fire Science instructor from JATC South.
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We're here at JATC South talking with Richard Clayton. Tell me, you have various titles. Tell me all of the titles that you hold because you're a teacher here at JATC South. You're also with the Fire Department, so.
Yes, I'm employed by Unified Fire Authority who contracts with the school district for this position. At the school, I'm the course coordinator over the Fire Science and EMT programs. In Fire Department, I'm a paramedic specialist, and I've got just over 20 years of experience doing that.
Fantastic, and I love that you're here with students. You do a tremendous job with them. Tell us about the courses that you offer and what it entails.
Well, we offer a few. On the Fire Science, we offer the intro courses. The courses that we offer here are the ones that we use for prerequisites to get into the Recruit Candidate Academy at UVU. They're the preparatory courses to go and get your fire certifications. We try to focus those classes on behaviors and professionalism to try to ingrain success into them and try to differentiate them from peers that might be looking for the same jobs. We just wanna make them better.
And then on the medical side, we run an EMT class. That EMT class does result in state licensure and a national certification through National Registry of EMTs. And so that one can lead directly to jobs in many, many medical fields. So I've got kids that have gone everywhere from medical school to nursing school, EMT, paramedic, all throughout the medical world from that class.
I want to talk about that. In addition to the students who choose either Fire Science or EMT or other medical professions as a career, there are also students out in the world who've taken your class who don't choose that career but are well-prepared in case of an emergency. Have you heard some stories about how students have been able to respond?
Yeah, every year I get a lot of different stories about students that have done incredible things. In fact, I just got one that from one of mine that's on a mission in Tonga and out on one of the Tongan Islands. And one of the people that they're tracking into had an emergency and they were able to render aid and get ahold of the emergency. But he knew exactly what to do, kept his companion calm, got his companion to go do the correct things.
And there's the one we're talking about in this podcast where a life was saved up a canyon on a random night where kids are just out having fun. And they responded to some cries out at a distance, which I don't think I would have done in high school.
Well, I can tell you that those kids were special. Some of the smartest ones that I've had, quiet with a really good strength. I remember when I got the article and I read who it was and I saw Zach's name there. And then I read how it proceeded and went, nope, he did it exactly as we teach it step by step. In that case, it was super important because the gentleman that fell into the fire, that our immediate concern is the swelling of the airways. And for them to go directly to the airway and clear airways because that is the greatest risk at that moment. And that training kicking in, like in a fire instance, somebody being exposed to fire like that, that is the difference between life and death. And so he handled that perfectly. The way he laid it out, what they did. I remember watching the video clip going, nailed it. I would have passed him on any of the tests.
I've always been impressed with what you do and the environment you create. And obviously, this is knowledge that becomes a part of who they are.
Well, and I don't know if you even know this, but this is where I started. I was in the very first Jordan School District EMT class.
I did not know that. That's awesome.
This is completely full circle for me. My entire life was built off of a class like this. And so I'm back teaching the exact class that I took in high school.
I'm hoping that one of these kids, maybe you will come teach this in another 20 or 30 years.
Which gives it that much more meaning for you and for them.
And that's why you find the passion. I remember everything that I did in HOSA that year. I remember going to nationals and it ended up being the career path that I followed and I built and raised a family on it and did all of that. Now I'm back here doing the same thing. So this class just isn't something academic because I know the full impact and where it can lead and what it can do.
I'm so grateful we have you here and we'll be back to talk more. We need to do an episode just about the EMT class. So we'll be back and do that.
Okay, thanks for the time, and thanks for everything you do for students and our community at large.
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.
