City to honor officer who rescued man from river and firefighters who helped tornado victims

Several heroes will be honored at the Feb. 8 meeting of the Vestavia Hills City Council: a group of firefighters who responded to the tornado that brought extensive damage and one death to Fultondale on Jan. 25, and a police officer who, while suffering from appendicitis, helped save a man’s life after his car left the roadway and went into the Cahaba River.

Officer Daniel Holly

On the night of Jan. 12, Officer Daniel Holly, 25, was working in Cahaba Heights when he got a call at 8 p.m. that a car had gone into the Cahaba River in the area near Overton Road. Unable to find the car in Vestavia city limits, Holly went into Mountain Brook where he was flagged down by a relative of the driver who pointed out where the car was.

Holly said he handed his phone and wallet to her and jumped in the water, which was 41 degrees that night. The air temperature was 28 degrees.

“It was freezing,” Holly said.

Holly was able to open the door and found that the driver was waist deep in water. Thankfully, he said the water wasn’t extremely swift, and he was able to get the man out of the car and safely to the bank.

Once Holly got back to shore, his supervisor, Lieutenant Joe Dease arrived and immediately realized Holly didn’t look right. Holly told him that his stomach had been hurting him during his shift, but he didn’t want to tell him because he didn’t want to be sent home.

Dease took him to Grandview down the road, and an hour after saving a man’s life, Holly was in surgery to have his appendix removed. The surgery was a success and Holly is recovered, he said.

“I was just doing my job,” said Holly, who’s been with the department for a little more than two years.

“Talking to him after, he said it was no big deal,” Dease said. “It speaks of his character.”

Captain Shane Ware said the rescue was just one example of what Vestavia officers do on a regular basis.

Vestavia Hills Fire Department

When a tornado ravaged the city of Fultondale on Jan. 25, neighboring cities jumped in to help, Vestavia included.

The heavy rescue unit quickly mobilized and assisted the Fultondale Fire Department with search and rescue and tornado damage assessment.

One of the incidents the firefighters responded to was at the home of Arnoldo Vasquez-Hernandez, who works as a contract custodian at Vestavia Hills City Hall, said the city’s communications director, Cinnamon McCulley. Vasquez-Hernandez was trapped in his home after a tree fell on it, and access was difficult to terrain and numerous other downed trees, and UAB medical personnel had to amputate his leg on site.

Deputy Chief Ryan Farrell said once Vestavia personnel got on scene, they quickly went to work stabilizing the structure, having to walk the length of almost three football fields between the structure and the necessary equipment, as their truck could not get any closer due to damage. That work was going on while Vasquez-Hernandez's leg was being amputated.

Ten to twelve off duty Vestavia fire personnel also responded to the affected area and assisted in the operation, the fire department said in a statement.

“The department is very proud of the personnel that responded and commend them for the incredible work they performed,” the department said.

Farrell said the teamwork between the different departments on scene played a huge role in being able to keep people alive that night.

"This whole story is a story of teamwork," Farrell said.