Fire captain honored with VFW gold medal

Josh Rauh spent more than a year pouring his heart and soul into an idea he hopes he never has to use.

And now, it has earned him national recognition.

The Lenexa fire captain was recently named the Veterans of Foreign Wars Firefighter Gold Medal award winner.

Rauh, who has served with the Lenexa Fire Department since 2003, was chosen for the honor because of his leadership in developing a cave rescue response plan and training program.

Since Lenexa, which has developed cave systems and underground storage facilities, didn’t have a precise cave rescue protocol, Rauh made it his mission to create one.

The possibility of a collapse happening at Meritex Lenexa Executive Park, for instance, would be devastating without a detailed plan in place, he surmised. The 3 million-square-foot subsurface business park near Interstate 435 and 95th Street bustles with thousands of employees each week.

Two years ago, Rauh traveled to Hutchinson, Kan., to observe underground mining rescue teams. He heavily incorporated confined space rescue to the plan, which also utilizes structure collapse, vehicle extraction and search rescue elements.

Last year, he educated and trained the Lenexa Fire Department on his plan. He also presented it to the Olathe and Overland Park fire departments.

“If a collapse ever does happen, it’s going to take a huge collaborative rescue effort,” Rauh said. “Basically we have to use all those different skills in the pitch black while a dust storm is happening. It has been an incredible learning experience for all of us and we’re always going to be working on this plan in an effort to make it better.”

During a Lenexa City Council meeting last month, Rauh was sur prised by the announcement of his national win and presented with a plaque. He was honored, but mostly stunned.

After all, almost 20 years ago, the Montana native dreamed of being a teacher. As a student at the University of North Dakota, Rauh studied history and played football and baseball.

During summers home, he volunteered with his local fire department, helping to extinguish flames tearing up dry grass and forest.

The camaraderie between the firefighters and the active duty of helping others changed the college student’s life. During the day, he finished his history degree, but at night he worked on his fire credentials.

Recalling that the Grand Forks fire chief once said Johnson County, Kansas, had some of the finest fire departments in the country, Rauh immediately applied to the Lenexa Fire Department when a position opened up.

“I had no family from the Kansas City area, I didn’t know anybody here, but I heard Johnson County was the best and that’s where I wanted to be,” he said. “It was a shot in the dark.”

But, it was one that paid off. He easily made friends with his coworkers and fell in love with his new hometown.

In 2008, he was promoted to fire captain.

The married father of two says he feels like the luckiest man in the world. When he wakes up in the morning, he looks forward to going to work.

But because of its intensity, the job can take an emotional toll.

He’ll never forget the heart-pounding moment, more than a decade ago, when two of his firefighting coworkers bailed out of a window as flames ate up a room they were searching.

Then there was that time around six years ago a young women flipped her car off the highway, sinking into a frozen pond. She was under water for 27 minutes, but rescuers managed to revive her. The cold temperature of the water had saved her life, Rauh said.

The worst moment of all, however, was when he found himself racing to a call at his own home. His son, then 2 months old, had stopped breathing because of flu complications.

“As soon as I heard my address over the loudspeaker, I about burned the brakes getting there,” Rauh said. “I was a mess. I discovered what it was like to be in the family’s shoes.”

Fortunately, his son started breathing by the time Rauh and his crew arrived. Experiencing an emergency situation from the other side was an eye-opening experience, and not one he takes for granted.

The biggest aspect of his job, he emphasized, is being human.

“We deal with people on their worst day and there are things I wish I’d never have to see, but honestly, there has been much more good than bad in this job,” he said. “I have the opportunity to make a positive impact on a complete stranger’s life on any given day. We might only have brief interactions with people, but I take them each very seriously.”

It was this compassion and passion that made him a clear choice for the gold medal award.

“Josh’s level of commitment, professionalism and dedication to his family, crew and the citizens of Lenexa is why Josh received national recognition,” said Doug Simms, District 2 Commander of the Kansas VFW.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Fire captain honored with VFW gold medal."