GIVING BACK

Before Self
Model Cadet Uses CAP,
EMS Skills To Save
Injured Motorist’s Life
Model, the son of a physician, learned his lifesaving
skills while at a Rockland County Fire Training Center’s
Emergency Medical Technician Course in his hometown
of Pomona, N.Y.
Drawing on his status as an EMT, he
advised dispatchers the driver had suffered
significant internal injuries complicated by
fractured ribs and respiratory distress. “(The
injured driver) had internal bleeding and
was in bad shape,” he said. “I felt it and
knew it; everything was ‘textbook.’”
Model firmly requested an emergency
helicopter to transport the patient.
As the driver was pinned by the wreckage,
Model improvised continued support inside
the vehicle, protecting him from flying glass
and metal at his own peril.
A landing area was cleared on an adjacent
ramp, the helicopter arrived and Model assisted
with the transfer by stretcher. He then
turned his attention to the passenger, who hadn’t yet
been examined. He also consulted with the injured driver’s
wife, who had been driving several cars behind.
Ultimately, Model learned the driver was listed in
serious condition in the intensive care unit with fractured
ribs, internal bleeding and a lacerated lung, and
that his intestines had been pushed up into his chest
cavity.
Model’s assessment at the scene was accurate, and his
call for a helicopter transfer proved life-saving. His
father, Lt. Col. Lawrence Model, wasn’t surprised by his
son’s heroic actions.
“As a physician I was impressed by Seth’s insight, his
cool-headed courage, his competence
and his confidence,” he said. “Seth
responded quickly and correctly (using
his CAP and EMS skills), and his
actions undoubtedly saved the person’s
life.
“As a father, seeing how far he has
come, I am beyond proud, but not surprised.
For Seth, service before self is a
lifestyle, not a motto.”
Seth Model is responsible for his
father’s involvement in the Civil Air
Patrol. “Seth didn’t follow in my footsteps;
he joined first and then recruited
me into CAP,” said Lawrence
Model, a former group and squadron
commander who now serves as the New York Wing’s
inspector general.
“I never think of myself as heroic, but as doing my
job,” said Seth Model, who hasn’t spoken to the injured
driver since the accident.
“Part of me wants to find him just to see how he is
doing,” he said. “Yet another part of me just stayed
under the radar that day. I felt I just did what any other
EMT would have done.” ▲
New York Wing Cadet Lt. Col.
Seth P. Model is a recent
recipient of the CAP Lifesaving
Award for outstanding
humanitarian service.
U. S. Civil Air Patrol Volunteer 29 July-August 2007