Nineteen Workers Honored with Governor’s Lifesaving Awards at Spokane Safety Conference
From bus supervisors to Boeing crews, employees across Washington are being recognized for heroic actions that saved lives during workplace emergencies.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Sep 23, 2025
Nineteen Washington workers will be honored with Governor’s Lifesaving Awards this week for quick, decisive actions that saved lives during on-the-job emergencies.
The awards will be presented Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Conference in Spokane.
Among those recognized: a Pierce Transit supervisor who used Narcan and CPR to revive a passenger, a Forks maintenance worker who found and aided a crash victim thrown from her vehicle, and several Boeing employees who recently completed CPR and defibrillator training and used it to save a teammate who collapsed at work.
“It’s not just a matter of being in the right place at the right time,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “Many of these workers were able to become lifesavers because they were trained.”
The conference will also present a Humanitarian Award, given when workers act heroically even if the victim cannot be saved. This year’s honor goes to two men who intervened during a carjacking in Seattle in which 80-year-old dog walker Ruth Dalton was killed. One worker fought the suspect and freed several dogs, while another performed CPR in a failed attempt to revive Dalton.
The Lifesaving and Humanitarian Award recipients are chosen by a committee of business and labor representatives. The two-day conference, sponsored by the state Department of Labor & Industries and the Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board, includes safety demonstrations, workshops, and special events such as the Poletop Rescue Competition.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.