Colorado security officer receives lifesaving award for saving a drowning toddler
Loveland CO July 2 2021 An employee with a local private security company was honored by the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority Wednesday after she saved a toddler from drowning at Lake Loveland in June.
Alexis Rivera is an employee with Code 4 Security Services, a company based out of Fort Collins that was contracted by Loveland to watch over the Lake Loveland swim beach and stop people from swimming when the beach is closed.
Chris Villalpando, the company’s owner, said they contracted with Loveland as the city continues to face a shortage of lifeguards.
He said the company has been working hard to ensure the community can use their favorite outdoor recreation spots without being in danger.
“Our guards have been working really hard to ensure we have that safety and balance for people,” he said.
Thursday in Loveland: mostly cloudy with a high around 83
Rivera said that on June 8, she and other guards were at the Lake Loveland swim beach making sure that people did not go out swimming. She said that day there were several lines of communication on what was and was not allowed, but officials finally decided that people could wade and play in the water a few feet from shore.
While watching the beach, Rivera saw a little girl go underneath the water. While at first she looked to be playing, Rivera quickly noticed the girl was fighting to get back above water.
“I just ran out there,” she said.
Fire Chief Mark Miller said he heard about this lifesaving event from a community member who witnessed it happen and wanted Rivera to be recognized. In his speech recognizing her lifesaving moment, Miller said that Rivera ran out into the water with her uniform still on and her phone and keys still in her pocket.
Rivera was able to safely return the child to the shore before anything serious happened. Mark Lacy, Code 4 operations manager, said when she called him later to let him know what happened she played it off like it was no big deal.
“Her attitude (was) ‘this is what I’m here to do,’” Lacy said during the recognition ceremony.
Miller, who awarded Rivera with the Citizen Lifesaving Award and an LFRA champions coin, said Rivera’s actions saved a young girl’s life and allowed her to grow up and experience her life however she wants.
“That is what heroic people do,” Miller said. “They put their own self aside to rush to save other people.”
While she is proud of what she did and honored by the recognition from the LFRA, Rivera said she does not feel like a hero, just someone doing the right thing.
“I feel like that should be anybody’s instinct if they see something like that,” Rivera said. “For me, that is what it was, (it was) ‘I need to get her.’”
“We were honored,” Villalpando said. “It is not only an honor but it is an incredible credit to Alexis because she is the kind of person (who) we love hiring; someone who has integrity and who is honest and who is observant.”
He said that Code 4 is always encouraging employees and potential hires to be aware of what is going on around them. He said Rivera is a perfect example of this importance, as by being aware “she literally saved a child’s life.”
Rivera said she is just happy to know that the little girl was OK, adding “that is all that matters to me, that she was OK.”
