When it comes to emergency first aid, there’s no such thing as acting a second too soon.  Literally, every moment counts between what could be the life and death of a victim.

This was the case when Ikaipo Atienza and Chester Alan Timbol reacted to a ‘Code Blue’ announcement over the intercom at the Exchange at Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas last December.  A customer passed out in the men’s room in the mall area of the building and the Code Blue announcement followed in-store procedure to notify trained employees to respond to an accident. Atienza and Timbol immediately rushed to the scene and quickly determined the customer was not breathing and was non-responsive after following standard first-aid checks.  Not wasting a second, they attached AED pads and administered CPR.  These lifesaving actions ensured the customer survived until paramedics arrived to administer further care and transport the victim to Nellis AFB Hospital where he was eventually stabilized and put on a ventilator.

Ikaipo Atienza and Chester Alan Timbol are among our country’s everyday heroes—the brave men and women willing to step forward and help a complete stranger in distress, during his greatest time of need.  Their decisive actions took courage and training, and they deserve to be recognized, which is why both were awarded the Certificate of Merit, one of the American Red Cross Lifesaving Awards.

“Rewarding selfless action and bravery is one of the best parts of what we do at the American Red Cross,” said Brooklynn Elder when presenting the awards.  Elder is the regional program manager for Red Cross Services to the Armed Forces. She added “They (Atienza and Timbol) are true examples of why it is so critically important for everyone in our community to have first aid training—in an emergency, we depend on those around us to be prepared and proactive.”

While honored to be recognized, Atienza and Timbol reflected on their own thoughts. "I don't do this for an award, I do it because I care,” said Atienza.  "There was nobody there to tell us what to do. I had to rely on my knowledge and my training," he added.

For Timbol, it’s a matter of readiness.  “This could be the real deal.  That’s what I always keep in mind when I hear a ‘Code Blue.’ That day, that was it.  That was the real call,” he said.

The American Red Cross Lifesaving Awards has a long-storied history with roots as far back as 1911. The Lifesaving Awards since its start been about providing recognition to those who in a time of an emergency use their lifesaving skills or knowledge to save or sustain a life. The program evolved from one stand-alone award, into three, starting in 1928 and include the Certificate of Merit (for those trained by the American Red Cross), the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders and Healthcare Professionals, and the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action (for someone who saved a life but was not trained by the Red Cross). All the awards and their recipients embody the spirit of the Red Cross, by using action to help alleviate human suffering in the face of an emergency.

The oldest of the Lifesaving Awards, the Certificate of Merit (COM), was established in 1911 and evolved in 1928 to provide a more fitting and lasting recognition to a larger circle of nominees. The COM is bestowed upon Red Cross trained individuals who have no obligation to respond to an emergency but do so anyways. The COM has borne the signatures of 17 Presidents of the United States, and those being issued to Atienza and Timbol are among the first signed by President Biden.