Trio of West Pierce Firefighters Will Receive Merit and Valor Awards For Attempted Lake Rescue

(Editor's note: This is from West Pierce Fire & Rescue)

On Tuesday, West Pierce Fire & Rescue will recognize three firefighters for their bravery and dedication during a recent water at the regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m., at West Pierce Fire & Rescue Station 21, located at 5000 Steilacoom Boulevard SW, Lakewood.

The incident happened on April 22 in the early morning hours. West Pierce Fire & Rescue crews were called to an inland water rescue off of one of the docks.  Upon arrival, they had reports of a young man who was swimming in the lake but did not resurface.

Firefighters Jonathan Tinsley and Jason Tinsley are certified Rescue Swimmers and jumped into the lake with only masks on their faces. Captain Mark Tinsley is on the Dive Team and deployed his gear and dove in with them. The three were able to locate the victim within a few short minutes.

Unfortunately, the victim did not survive, but the efforts of these three show the dedication West Pierce Fire & Rescue commits to its citizens.  Jonathan and Jason will be receiving Valor Awards for their efforts and Mark will be receiving a Merit Award.

In addition, Tillicum resident Judy Vose will be recognized for receiving the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award for her involvement in West Pierce Fire & Rescue’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.