National First Responders Day: Community Offers Thanks, Praise to Personnel

First responders, and police, are some of the most wonderful and compassionate people that there are in our community. It takes a very special person to aid people in the most vulnerable positions one may suffer from in their lives.

Bless them all!

—Anne Grogan, Bakersfield

On behalf of The Open Door Network, we want to thank our partners for their continuous support of victims and neighbors experiencing homelessness. We see your efforts every day and it doesn't go unnoticed.

—Lauren Skidmore, CEO of the Open Door Network

Dear first responders,

Thank you for pledging yourselves to protect and serve.

My life is blessed by relatives and friends who have been and now are among your agencies. Space does not allow sharing their varieties of experiences. Each one of them deserves a book.

In every circumstance of need, and wherever we have lived and traveled in California, we have encountered polite, friendly, capable and respectful first responders. Some of those times include a speeding citation (deserved), auto accidents (not due to speeding), health emergencies for us and nearby neighbors, theft reports, and the unforgettable visit to inform us of a family tragedy.

Forever memorable is the phone conversation about the results of a "check the welfare" call for my elderly family member in declining health. Please consider this my warmest thanks for your patience and professionalism in delivering the hard facts. Here also, space does not allow details, but that pivotal conversation set in motion a process that made a positive difference in her life.

May you and your families be abundantly blessed.

—Many Thanks, Lynn Dee Smith, Bakersfield

My 14-year-old old son Noel was in a horrible car accident on July 7, 2022 at the intersection of Brimhall and Nord roads.

The EMT and fire department were helping him and trying to keep him calm until an ambulance arrived. His friend was taken first because he had the most extensive injuries. My son was in major shock, screaming, crying and shaking one minute and talking the next.

These men did an amazing job. They helped him and me stay calm in a moment that any parent would lose it. They even cracked a few jokes and made us laugh! These men were able to take a horrific situation for all of us and lighten it just a little for a split second. That meant everything to me!

When I arrived at Kern Medical and went to the trauma unit, the EMTs for my son were finishing up paperwork. They made it a point to come over to my son and thank him! I said "No, thank you guys!"

This blew me away, these men that we should be thanking are thanking my 14-year-old son for helping them! Then they told him how awesome he is and threw in one last joke before heading back out to help more people.

I hope the EMT that helped my son, the firefighters at the scene and the driver of the ambulance know they'll always hold a special place in my heart for their sense of humor, their choice of work (it takes strong men/women who fill these roles) and helping to save my son and his friends' lives and countless more!

This fire department, I truly believe, is my son's guardian angels!

—Nacole Grace

To all the heroes and heroines that put their lives on the line for their community... You are all angels from GOD. Thank you, may GOD protect you while you are protecting, helping, rescuing or just checking on someone out there. Stay safe; this world has gone insane.

—Denise Simmons

When you dial 9-1-1, chances are you have an emergency. For 23 years my wife has answered calls as a Fire Department dispatcher. Many calls begin with screaming and dispatchers must calm the caller before they can get information to send help.

Fire dispatchers don't just send equipment. They remain on the line and provide life-saving instructions prior to help arriving. They deliver babies by phone. Tragically, they often listen to callers take their last breath before help arrives. You can't really check that stuff at the door when you get home.

Calls involving children affect my wife deeply. Suicide calls, firefighter/officer down calls hurt them to the core. Thank you to all 9-1-1 dispatchers from every agency. You are the true first responders when you answer that call. If you call 9-1-1, stay calm. Don't yell or swear. They have feelings and they are there to help you.

—Jim Luff, Bakersfield

Under the leadership of Firefighter Tony Garcia, the Kern County Fire Department Explorer program has given young people, ages 15 to 19, the opportunity to train in the same manner as regular firefighters and experience first responder career opportunities. Guided by Firefighter Garcia for over 38 years, this program has seen individuals continue on to secure positions within fire departments and related fields.

Current Kern County Fire Chief Aaron Duncan was a former KCFD Explorer. Firefighter Garcia's dedication and giving of his personal time have been key to the success of this program.  Explorers serve Kern communities assisting with events including Rely for Life, Kern County Burn Survivors, Toys for Tots, MADD and more. These young people also contribute by identifying and clearing fire hazards in Kern County, assisting by fighting fires and many other community services.

Thank you Explorers and Firefighter Garcia for making a difference.

—Friends of the Explorers

I want to thank all the first responders in our community for all they do every day. They have saved the lives of several people who I love and care about. In more ways than you could imagine. Thank you all for everything you do and putting your life on the line for our loved ones and our community.

—Cathy Bentley, Bakersfield

My name is Lisa Dunnagan Kendrick.

I would love to honor my first responder parents.

My father, Daniel Dunnagan, was a Kern County sheriff's deputy for 14 years. He worked out of the Wasco substation in the late 1980s and early '90s. He loved his law enforcement career and the people he worked with.

Sadly, he passed away (off duty) in his early 30s, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. EOW 05/15/95

My mother, Loni Dunnagan Holt, is still a first responder having worked 43 years and is still going! She's on California incident management team 4 (CIIMT4). They travel for wildland fires and natural disasters. She's worked Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, the Dixie Fire and Lime Fire, to name a top few. She's worked hundreds of incidents throughout her long career and continues to this day!

Her main job, outside of fire season, was from 1980–2005 as an administrative officer/budget analyst for the U.S. Forest Service.

Thank you to my parents for being first responders and showing us what giving back and being a part of our community was about!

Back the Badge-Bakersfield was created to honor all first responders and thank them for all they do. I wanted a way to give back to our first responders in our community and honor my parents and their legacies.

—Love, a first responders' daughter, Lisa Dunnagan Kendrick

Thanks for honoring first responders.

I would really like to say thanks to all the volunteer search and rescue teams in Kern County. They do everything without pay, buy their own gear, fundraise to buy team gear and vehicles. Fine bunch of folks.

—Ted Stanfield

I'd like to thank all first responders — with a special shout-out to emergency communications professionals. Often overlooked, without call takers and dispatchers, there are no other responders. Those of you under the headset, you have my admiration and deepest respect.

—Karen Briefer, Bakersfield

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