Gas Service Crew Rescues Family

November 15, 2005

(L to R) Kevin Brannon, Ronnie Griffin, Dave Stephens, and Lee Service.

The quick action of Tampa Local 108 members Lee Service, Kevin Brannon, Ronnie Griffin and Dave Stephens saved the lives of a family swept away by a rain-swollen stream.

Bullfrog Creek, typically small and slow-running, is a popular spot for children on inner tubes. But recent rains had swelled the Hillsborough County creek into a deep, fast-moving river.

The Teco Peoples Gas line crew were eating lunch near their work site when a girl approached them, yelling that her mother, brother and sister were trapped in the creek. Crew leader Service sent linemen Brannon and apprentice Griffin to investigate. As they ran toward the water, they heard screams.

The mother was in the creek clinging to a tree, with her children hanging onto her. Stephens and Griffin ran in the water and Service threw them a rope. Griffin tied the ropes under the boy’s arms and Service and Brannon pulled him ashore. They rescued his mother and sister the same way.

The IBEW salutes the heroic Local 108 members for a job well done.