The Department of Interior held the 69th Honor Awards Convocation ceremony to honor Interior employees whose actions are above and beyond their offical duties. The Occupational Health and Safety Award of Excellence, Distinguished Service Award, Citizen’s Award for Bravery, and the Valor Award were the awards presented at the ceremony.
This year Robert Fortiz, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Sevice Federal Wildlife Officer, was awarded the Valor Award in recognition of his acts of tremendous courage which involved a high degree of personal risk in the face of danger. On October 12, 2011, Officer Fortiz, was the first on the scene of a vehicle rollover accident in Arizona. The vehicle had rolled over in a sharp bend of road and was at risk of being struck by oncoming traffic. Without hesitation, Officer Fortiz risked his own life by climbing into the flipped vehicle, helped a woman who was struggling to get out of the vehicle to safety, and then returned to the vehicle to extricate a small child trapped upside down in a car seat. The child was taken to a nearby hospital and later released.
Officer Fortiz's actions, quick thinking, and tremendous courage, at great risk to his own personal safety, in order to save the lives of two other individuals, are the exemplary characteristics that earned him the Department's highest honor.
Thank you Officer Fortiz for your bravery and your service.
