In the Pipeline: Firefighters reunited with boy they saved

A firefighter showed the young boy how to use the hose. Then the youngster was helped into the basket of a ladder truck and hoisted with his friends high into the air. He got to wear firefighting gear, explore the engines and, in short, live the fantasy of many a 7-year-old.

The last time a couple of Huntington Beach firefighters had seen Josiah Kernell a little more than five years ago, it was under much more serious circumstances. Josiah, then 2, was suffering a medical emergency when the Huntington Beach Fire Department, along with the Orange County Fire Authority, responded to his family’s home in Westminster.

“I went in to wake him one morning and he was unconscious,” said Josiah’s mother, Darla. “He had been some having some health issues, and as we soon would learn, he was in the middle of a severe hypoglycemic [low blood sugar] event. I tried to resuscitate him but could not, and so I called 911.”

The Huntington Beach Fire Department arrived soon, and, en route to the hospital, Randy Webb, a firefighter/paramedic, performed a lifesaving procedure called an intraosseous infusion on Josiah, injecting a needle into the marrow of a bone to access the vascular system and provide fluids and medication. It is done when intravenous access is not available or not feasible.

From there, emergency room staff took over and Webb and his partner, Chris Brown, went back to what they do — namely, things like this.

Neither Webb nor Brown had seen Josiah since that harrowing morning until, in the brilliant sunshine Saturday, they had time to catch up.

The reunion came together after Darla posted a five-year thank you to the department on Facebook. Huntington Beach Fire Chief Patrick McIntosh learned of her message and the outpouring of support it was receiving, and he helped arrange Saturday’s event.

“We’ve waited a long time to tell these men thank you,” Darla said. “This is an amazing feeling, finally.”

Her husband, Jim, agreed: “Josiah can now put a face to these men that did so much for him.”

At the Huntington Beach Fire Training Center, family members and friends were treated to the touching reunion and a chance to see some tools of the firefighting trade.

The kids got to work the hose, tour the engines and, perhaps most enjoyably, get a bird’s eye view of Huntington Beach from the basket of the ladder truck.

Josiah is doing just fine. He presented the firefighters with cards, gifts and hugs. Soon he will start second grade at Star View Elementary School in Midway City, and no doubt he will have a few stories to tell classmates about his special day with the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

I think we adults were touched by something that morning too. We see firefighters racing by all the time, sirens blaring, en route to potential crises. But rarely do we know what becomes of those trips.

This time we got to see the effects of a heroic and successful mission. I know firefighters don’t often get to know the people they help, and it was obvious how special this was to these guys. All anyone had to do was look at the kids’ faces to appreciate what profound role models these men are.

As a parent, I thought it was wonderful watching the Kernell family (and cousins and friends and grandparents) enjoy such a unique celebration. Not every crisis has a happy ending. But when it does, how nice it is to bask in its goodness and give thanks.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 25 books, including “Legendary Locals of Huntington Beach.” You can follow him on Twitter @chrisepting or at facebook.com/hbindependent.