By LYNETTE SOWELL-STEVENS
Cove Leader-Press
Five-year-old Casia Tucker was not present for her first day of kindergarten on Monday morning.
Instead, she and her mother, Casey Gauman, were at the Copperas Cove Police Department where the two were honored for their quick thinking and actions on August 2 of this year.
They were presented with challenge coins by both the Copperas Cove Police and Fire Departments.
Lt. Rick Counter explained the significance of a challenge coin.
“A challenge coin is a way to symbolize a level of respect for a person who has shown commitment to serving their community, and here at our police department, we use these challenge points as a way to honor somebody who has shown courage and dedication to helping the community as well,” he said.
Any officer who witnesses an act that is worthy of a challenge coin can present a nomination letter to their supervisor, and after it is reviewed, it goes through the chain of command, eventually to the chief of police, said Counter.
Sergeant Jonathan Arwood recounted the occasion that caused him to nominate the two for the award.
“We were dispatched on August 2 to a fire at the MLK Apartments. Basically, what ended up happening, there was a fire on a balcony. During the course of that fire, Casia, who is five years old, observed the fire while she was playing and immediately recognized this is a danger to the apartments.
She notified her mom, Casey, and Casey immediately called 911. She had a fire extinguisher in her own apartment, which she used to run up and assist with putting out the fire before that fire could spread.
“The fire at the point when we responded was a decent size and was likely to spread had they not taken the actions they did, because we were several minutes into this fire by the time we were able to respond.”
Sgt. Arwood said their actions probably saved that entire building along with all the residents inside the building.
Chief Douglas Matthijetz with the Copperas Cove Fire Department also expressed his appreciation prior to presenting them each with a Fire Department challenge coin.
“It’s the quick actions that you took and getting the fire extinguisher. It just shows the value of having a fire extinguisher in your home, especially in a multifamily dwelling like an apartment,” he said. “On a balcony, that’s a good prime spot for fire to travel and spread quickly through a building. Your quick action saved a lot of property and possibly even somebody’s lives if they were not paying attention.”
Lt. Counter had one more item to give them before they left-- a letter from the Copperas Cove Police Department asking the school district to excuse her absence from school that morning.
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