Capt. Paul Verhalen, of the Fort Atkinson Fire Department, along with first responders from across Wisconsin, each representing an Assembly district, assembled at the State Capitol yesterday to receive a legislative citation from their respective Assemblymen.
The citations were awarded as part of the 2021 First Responder of the Year/First Responders Hometown Heroes Award, a recognition begun in 2019, according to a press release from Rep. Cody Horlacher’s office.
Nominations for the distinction opened in September.
Nominees can include police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters or any level of EMS personnel that exemplify community service, selflessness, and dedication, according to the release.
Horlacher selected Verhalen to represent Wisconsin’s 33rd Assembly District after receiving his nomination from Fort Atkinson Fire Chief Daryl Rausch, who, in part, wrote:
“Paul Verhalen has been a volunteer member of the Fort Atkinson Fire Department since 1989 and has served in multiple positions as a Firefighter, Driver/Operator, Lieutenant and Captain. He also serves as one of our primary training officers. Paul also works as a career Lieutenant/ EMT for the Janesville Fire Department.
Paul has been a dedicated and active member of our department for many years. While his on-going dedication of service to the Fort Atkinson community certainly qualifies him to be considered as a First Responder of The Year Award, I respectfully nominate him based on a specific incident which occurred recently.”
Rausch continued:
“On August 10, 2021 our community faced the largest single incident that any of our members can remember. A warehouse complex of more than 140,000 square feet caught fire just before noon. The incident quickly escalated to a 5th alarm incident with numerous ‘special’ calls and ultimately involved 62 fire apparatus, 215 firefighters from 48 departments from central and southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Through the heroic actions of our firefighters and mutual aid partners, the fire loss was stopped in the original fire area and a significant portion of the complex was saved.
“Well into the incident, Captain Verhalen and another firefighter were operating in the interior of the building directly adjacent to the fire area to ensure the fire did not breach a fire wall and extend into the next building. While these two members were operating in the building they were near a large wall of windows facing the fire area.
“A strong thunderstorm with high moved through the area. As the front moved through the high wind caused one of the large windows, which had been exposed to the extreme heat from the fire in the adjoining and attached fire building, to fail and collapse. When it collapsed, it fell onto Captain Verhalen’s partner firefighter; in so doing, it severed the brachial artery in the firefighter’s right arm. Paul, with great presence of mind, quickly affixed a makeshift tourniquet on the firefighter’s arm to stem the ‘spurting, bright red blood’ declared an emergency and requested immediate medical assistance.
“The ambulance crew was on the opposite side of this very large building so Captain Verhalen gave continual radio updates while continuing lifesaving measures. Captain Verhalen, ultimately carried the firefighter, on his back, down a flight of stairs, out of the building, and through a ditch flooded with waist-deep runoff water to deliver him to the EMS crew who were then arriving on scene. Paul did all of this in under four minutes.”
State Rep. Cody Horlacher, at left, presents Capt. Paul Verhalen, of the Fort Atkinson Fire Department with a legislative citation. Verhalen was chosen to receive the First Responders Hometown Hero/First Responder of the Year Award, representing the 33rd Assemble District, for his heroic act of saving a fellow firefighter during the five-alarm warehouse fire in Fort Atkinson on Aug. 10. He, along with other first responders selected for the distinction from across the state, received the citation yesterday afternoon. Contributed photo.
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