A local CAL FIRE engineer received one of the state’s highest honors Thursday.
CAL FIRE SLO Apparatus Engineer Chris Wetzel received the Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor for saving lives during the 2017 Las Vegas shooting massacre.
Cal Fire apparatus engineer Chris Wetzel of the San Luis Opispo Unit saved people's lives during the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, and California is about to present him with the state's highest honor for his work the night of the massacre. https://t.co/S7fqDv5oe9 pic.twitter.com/yrNzuOc1gM
— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) May 3, 2019
Wetzel was one of 13 state employees to receive the award, which is the highest honor California bestows on its public servants.
58 people were killed in the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas back in October of 2017. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
CAL FIRE says Wetzel risked his life during the shooting, tending to the wounds of two victims.
Wetzel reportedly covered a man who was injured and helped another man with a leg injury.
In a tweet, CAL FIRE said it is honored to call Wetzel one of its own and congratulated Wetzel on the well-deserved Gold Medal of Valor.
During the tragic 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, as gun fire rang out, Fire Apparatus Engineer Christopher Wetzel risked his own life to tend to the wounds of two victims. CAL FIRE is honored to call him one of our own & congratulate him on his well-deserved Gold Medal of Valor. pic.twitter.com/CsRabUO7b5
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) May 2, 2019
