THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT
JOHANSON Danny Edward
Senior Constable, New Zealand Police
CITATION
New Zealand Bravery Medal
Special Honours List 23 June 2014
When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February, Senior Constable Danny Johanson (now Sergeant) was deployed with a Police unit carrying advanced medical kits and specialist equipment into the inner-city area. The team used concrete cutting equipment at several sites and were at the forefront of several rescues at both the Pyne Gould Corporation and Canterbury Television buildings. Senior Constable Johanson joined a firefighter and two civilian doctors in a rescue operation for a man who was trapped inside the PGC building. The man was in danger of bleeding to death with his legs pinned between a concrete pillar and a collapsed floor section. Senior Constable Johanson assisted with a complete double amputation of the man’s legs with a hacksaw and penknife. Inside the dark conditions of the collapsed building Senior Constable Johanson climbed into a confined area beside the trapped man, lying on a staircase with his feet above him in order to access the area to be operated on. The man was anesthetised with morphine and ketamine and tourniquets applied to both legs. The civilian doctor performing the amputation became fatigued and passed the hacksaw to Senior Constable Johanson, the second doctor and the firefighter who took turns in completing the operation. The man was loaded onto a tarpaulin and carried to ambulance staff waiting outside the building. Several aftershocks hit during the operation, threatening to compromise the area Senior Constable Johanson was working in. The man survived due to their efforts.
KNOWN AWARDS
New Zealand Bravery Medal
NOTES
Born
Died
