AFRL employee recognized for stepping up to save coworker

  • Published
  • By Kenji Thuloweit
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Lt. Col. Michael H. Platt, Air Force Research Laboratory Detachment 7 commander, along with members of the AFRL Volunteer Protection Program, dropped by Area 1-42 at Edwards to recognize a lifesaver, Oct. 18.

Colonel Platt presented Dan Harbour, an AFRL aerospace engineer, with a commander's coin along with a T-shirt and hat from the laboratory's VPP.

The VPP is a commander's plan to accompany unit safety programs throughout the Air Force and Department of Defense. It also provides recognition to those who have stepped forward to help others during emergencies or identifying safety issues.

"In recent months here at the lab we have been working on the Volunteer Protection Program, which is basically taking the safety program that we have been practicing for years and bringing it down to the worker level - saying that it's important to practice safety and to be ready for incidents all the time," said Colonel Platt. "Whether you're eating lunch or working on a test stand, you need to be ready when the situation arises."

That situation arose Aug. 27, when Mr. Harbour had to take action during his lunch hour to help a fellow worker.

Mr. Harbour performed the Heimlich maneuver on a coworker who was choking.

"We were eating pizza in the break room and all of a sudden I saw him get up and try to get people's attention but he wasn't doing the typical choking sign," said Mr. Harbour. "He was pointing to his throat, so I finally realized and asked him, 'are you choking?'"

"He shook his head and turned around so I could get behind him and at that point I started doing the Heimlich. It took about five or six times actually before it finally came out and he was okay," he said.

Mr. Harbour says AFRL has always put a priority on safety and he and his coworkers have taken numerous classes that include learning the Heimlich maneuver and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He also learned lifesaving skills as a lifeguard before becoming an aerospace engineer.

He added that the VPP helps put safety at the forefront of everyone's minds.

"The whole part of the VPP philosophy is to have an emphasis on safety and to think of safety in everything you do, which is something we always do in the test areas," Mr. Harbour said. "We deal with a lot of hazardous chemicals and explosives so the VPP program fits in with everything we have always done."

This is the second incident in the past two months where an AFRL employee has taken action to save another.

Previously, a sub-contractor, was performing maintenance on a high-pressure component rocket test stand. While the sub-contractor was cleaning an area after the work had been performed, a support engineer entered the work area to check on the progress of the task. The support engineer collapsed and stopped breathing. The sub-contractor yelled for help and immediately began CPR and was successful in reviving the engineer.

When asked about his efforts, the contractor immediately replied "We are a team and need to look out for each other!"

Dr. Ashwani Vij, AFRL VPP program manager, attended Mr. Harbour's presentation and said the Volunteer Protection Program creates safety awareness and is a great supplement to AFRL's never ending emphasis on safety.

"VPP or no VPP, these guys would have done the same thing, but with the VPP I believe they are more aware of the culture of safety," said Dr. Vij. "Taking responsibility of our own safety and also the safety of our colleagues and coworkers - that's the message of VPP."

Dr. Vij said even though VPP is a safety program, it is run by employees who don't work for the safety office.

"This shows that the employees are the ones who are taking up the ownership of safety processes. The safety office is there to mentor and help them understand the compliance and regulatory requirements, and make sure that these are effectively embraced both on and off duty," he said.

Like many who come to the aid of others, Mr. Harbour is modest.

"I'm just happy to have helped him out," he said. "I'm not big on getting all this attention."