Detroit firefighter Sivad Johnson is holding up plaque given to him in 2016 for saving the life of an unconscious man.
(Detroit Public Safety Foundation)
A police dive team searched the Detroit River on Saturday for a hero fighter who was reported missing after helping rescue three girls from drowning, according to reports.
Detroit Fire Department Sgt. Sivad Johnson, 48, was off-duty Friday night and with his 10-year-old daughter when he heard the girls screaming for help and diving into the water at the Detroit Yacht Club, The Detroit News reported.
“He’s a firefighter, he saw the girls in need and jumped in. He’s done that his whole career,” Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell told the paper. “Something happened and it’s sad that one of us got lost this way.”
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It was Johnson’s daughter who sent Michigan State Police at 9 p.m. Friday night to lose her father, the paper reported.
The rescue of the girls involved a civilian and one with a boat.
“From the civilian we were talking to last night, there were a lot of rip currents and the sergeant went out into the water,” Fornell said, according to The News. “One girl was rescued by the civilian and the boat picked up the two other girls.”
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Johnson joined the fire department 26 years ago, following in his father’s footsteps.
In 2016, the Detroit Public Safety Foundation recognized Johnson for saving the life of an unconscious man during a fire.
A year later, he was honored for his bravery with a divisional medal of benevolent distinction.
Johnson’s story of being a Detroit firefighter was recorded in 2018 by The Moth, a nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling.
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“It’s never easy and it never feels right to lose a human life when you are called to save it, but it comes with the job,” he said in a recording of his story.
