By Jacquie Oliverius
Contra Costa Times
SAN RAMON, Calif. —"Be Prepared” is the motto of the Boy Scouts of America, and “Do a Good Turn Daily” is the slogan.
Boy Scout Quentin Boasso, 14, of Danville followed both last September. As a result, the member of Troop 252 was honored by the San Ramon Valley Fire District at the Dec. 19 meeting of its board of directors.
“We really like to do this when we can,” said Kimberley French, fire district information officer.
Fire Chief Richard Price presented Quentin with a certificate of recognition and a fire district cap, which he promptly put on. The certificate, signed by board president Jennifer Price, proclaimed it was “in recognition of your quick actions and composure during a life-threatening situation.”
It was an ordinary afternoon Sept. 7 when Quentin and his dad, Ken, were headed to Home Depot from their Danville home.
“I was working on my homework and was reading my history book, when suddenly my dad stopped the car, backed up and got out,” recalled Quentin, who was 13 at the time. “I looked up, and a woman had flagged us down.”
A man had been working on a Ford Excursion, using a jack to hold up the vehicle while he worked on the brakes.
“He was using a bumper jack with no jack stands. It slipped,” said the Scout, “and the car landed on his chest. I got out to see what I could do.”
The man had already managed to wriggle out from under the car and was lying on the garage floor.
Quentin, who had earned his first aid merit badge four weeks earlier, said he started treating the man for shock. He found a tarp to cover the victim and keep him warm, and used a box to raise the man’s feet.
“He was going in and out of consciousness, so I kept talking to him, to keep him calm and so he wouldn’t focus on the pain,” Quentin said.
Meanwhile, Ken Boasso had taken a phone from the woman and was talking to dispatch. When he heard the emergency vehicles nearing, Quentin went out to nearby Camino Tassajara and guided them in.
When the rescue and medical unit from Station 35 arrived, “it was ‘Game on’ time,” said Boasso, who is the troop’s Scoutmaster.
“Quentin and I want to stress that the real stars were the EMTs. They were quick, deliberate, decisive,” he said, adding that he and his wife, Jamie, were very proud of their son.
The victim, who suffered a punctured lung, ruptured spleen and six broken ribs, was taken by ambulance to Sycamore Valley Park. From there, a helicopter flew him to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
“The man was very grateful and has since recovered,” French said.
She added that the fire district found out about Quentin’s involvement in a “small world” way when a fire district employee, who attends the same church as the Boassos, mentioned it.
Also at the meeting, Capt. Todd Word was honored as 2011 Firefighter of the Year and senior office assistant Debbie Faria was recognized as 2011 Employee of the Year.
“These honors have been done for many years. The recipients are nominated and voted on by their peers,” French said. “Both awards are given to those who have gone above and beyond in their service.”
Copyright 2011 San Jose Mercury News