When a senior fell, how Modesto firefighters helped him up and then helped him out

What does it take to be standing one second, falling flat on your back the next, and still end up saying you had a “great day”?

In Lee Wolf’s case, it took the help of a Modesto Fire Department crew.

Wolf, a 72-year-old resident of the Standiford Place retirement community on Standiford Avenue, was in his apartment Wednesday, pulling from a box the components of a new wheeled office chair. The combination of bulky box, heavy chair piece and tight working space led to him losing his balance.

On the floor, apparently uninjured but unable to get up, the Vietnam War veteran pushed the button on the medical alert badge he wears. His provider called 911, and the Engine 11 crew from over at Pelandale and Carver was on its way.

The crew assessed Wolf, determined he was unhurt, and helped him get in his recliner.

“They saw what I had spread about all over the room,” Wolf said Thursday, and they said, ‘Well, let’s do this.’ So they took it upon themselves to build the chair. They did the whole thing — I was just getting it out of the box and that’s when I fell.”

Firefighter Calvin Martin and engineer Andre Van Ryn did a great job with the chair, Wolf said Thursday. They got it together in about 15 minutes, Van Ryn said. Martin added, “I’m not gonna lie, we actually did have to open up the manual and do step-by-step instructions.”

Wolf said he didn’t ask for help. The firefighters just quickly assessed the situation and figured he could use it. “We didn’t think he was going to be able to do it himself, just because he wasn’t very mobile,” Van Ryn said. “He used a walker. … You could tell he wasn’t going to get very far.”

Martin and Van Ryn laughed at the suggestion that if word of their building skills spreads, they might get a call from their colleagues at Station 1 downtown for help in repairing the deteriorating building. And if the Engine 11 crew starts getting a flood of lift-assistance calls, only to find Ikea furniture pieces strewed all over folks’ floors, they’ll certainly know something’s up.

This story was originally published January 24, 2019 at 3:50 PM.