2 Chattanooga Firefighters Honored For Life-Saving Efforts

Two Chattanooga firefighters have received special recognition for stepping up and helping others in need when they were off duty.

"It shows their willingness to run towards a problem and assist citizens, no matter where they are or what they’re doing," officials said.

Firefighter Zack Trimboli (Ladder 19 Red Shift) received a life-saving award from the Chattanooga Police Department during their annual awards ceremony. After a shooting in Downtown Chattanooga last May that involved multiple victims, Firefighter Trimboli immediately rushed over to the wounded to render aid. He located two patients and began assessments. He opened airways and then removed his shirt and used it to apply pressure to control bleeding while directing other bystanders to start CPR. After a pulse was restored, he continued to work on both patients until he was relieved by HCEMS. He previously received an award from the Chattanooga Fire Department for what he did that night.

Firefighter Justin Coffey (Squad 13 Red Shift) received the TN Star of Life First Responder Award, along with members of Bradley County Fire Rescue and Bradley County EMS, for their actions on the scene of a very tragic car wreck on Christmas Day. On Dec. 25, 2022, a call came in to Bradley 911 around 5:45 p.m. of a serious head-on collision on Highway 64 in Cleveland with entrapment. Both cars were on their side. Firefighter Coffey was deer hunting at the time and climbing out of a tree when he heard the impact. The crash site was directly in front of his property and he hurried out of the woods and jumped in to render aid. BCFR did an outstanding job extricating three children out of a vehicle, ages two, four, and seven. One of the children was unresponsive with major trauma and the other two in critical condition. The parents of the children in the same car were deceased upon arrival. The driver of the other vehicle was in critical condition as well. LifeForce airlifted one of the children and UT LifeStar airlifted a second child. The other child was transported to the hospital by ambulance and the driver of the other vehicle was transported to the hospital as well. During the awards event in Nashville, the patients, their family and all of the first responders who had a hand in the call had the chance to reunite. “It was an amazing experience since we normally never see or meet these patients or the family again,” said Firefighter Coffey.