FOX 35 Care Force: Seminole County firefighters honored for saving 3-year-old girl
FOX 35 Care Force: Seminole County firefighters help save girl's life
FOX 35 Care Force is honoring Seminole County Fire Station 22 after firefighters helped save the life of a girl who was run over by a car.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Three years after Seminole County firefighters helped save the life of a 3-year-old girl who was accidentally run over by a truck, the crew has become much more than a group of first responders to her family. They’ve become family.
Lila Pagan, 6, is now full of life, running, playing and keeping her family on their toes with her feisty personality.
But three years ago, her older brother, Francisco Pagan, remembers seeing a very different little girl.
"I just remember coming out and seeing them try pulling my sister from under the car. It’s just screaming," Francisco said.
Seminole County firefighters race to save 3-year-old girl
Lila was just 3 years old when she was accidentally run over by a truck.
Seminole County Fire Station 22 was just around the corner, and Lt. Marcus Gomes was among the first firefighters to arrive.
"The first thing I saw is I like saw my little girl," he said. "And as I saw that, I’m like, OK, we have to try to do everything that we can possibly do."
Gomes said he had to pull Lila’s terrified mother, Pam Pagan, away from the ambulance so the crew could get to work.
"I wanted nothing more than to be next to her and with her…," she said. "So it was like a struggle for the firefighters to like rip me off of the ambulance and get me to calm down."
Gomes stayed with Pam while firefighter-paramedic Cross Farrentino and the rest of the crew raced Lila to the hospital.
"You put your feelings and emotions aside because we are professionals and this is our job and this is what we train for and it’s go time."
Lila was critically injured, intubated and in a coma.
For Francisco, who was just 8 years old at the time, faith became an anchor as his little sister fought for her life.
"I knew that Father God was with my sister, so I had to tell her that," he said.
At the hospital, Francisco became known as the boy who sang worship songs through the halls.
"I guess I just felt like praising the Lord." he said.
About a month later, Lila was home.
Today, it’s difficult to tell what she survived.
"This is why we do what we do, it’s why we train… to have a story with a positive outcome like this. It means the most to us," Gomes said.
Station 22 firefighters become part of Lila’s family
For the firefighters at Station 22, their connection with Lila didn’t end when she came home from the hospital.
Farrentino remembers the emotion of seeing her walk back into the station.
"When she walked in here, I couldn’t help but feel like just emotion come over me and look down and just start dripping tears," Farrentino said.
Three years later, the crew continues to show up for Lila and her family.
They’ve celebrated Christmases and birthdays together, and the firefighters have watched the little girl they once rushed to save continue to grow.
"To us, she’s family now. Her mom is family… Christmas comes around. We get gifts for every kid, but she’s just a little more special to us."
For Pam, it’s difficult to describe what that relationship means.
"It’s hard to put into words, as a mom, the gratitude that we feel for what they did for us that day and how they continue to be in our lives," she said.
Three years after Station 22 responded to the Pagan family’s worst day, the people who helped save Lila’s life remain a part of it.
The crew is being recognized with a FOX 35 Care Force Award for its lifesaving response and continued connection with Lila and her family.
The Source: The story was written with information gathered by FOX 35 reporter Marley Capper.