Heroes Never Play a Waiting Game

What is the stuff of heroes? There is no scientific formula or chemical compound. Some heroes don’t even know they have it until they are confronted with the crisis of fellow humans in danger. They just respond. Such was Vidar Anderson, the eastern Sierra volunteer fireman who would always be first on the scene whenever someone needed help. And at Convict Lake last Monday, Anderson was among the first trying to save four teen-agers who had ventured too far out on the thin ice and plunged into the frigid waters.

Alas, this was Anderson’s last rescue effort. Three of the boys died and Anderson himself disappeared in the dark waters. In all, seven perished. Anderson did not stop to measure personal risk. The kids needed him and he gave of himself--all there was to give.

“There are only so many of those kind of guys around,” a friend said of Anderson. Another of those kind was U.S. Forest Service employee Clay Cutter, 31. Cutter’s wife Terry was not surprised that he would risk--and lose--his life for others. He would not have had it any other way, she said.

And there was Cris Baitx, who managed to survive. Baitx said he knew they should wait until more rescuers arrived with the proper equipment. But there could be no delay: “Just watching those heads bobbing up and down was too much.”

One thing about heroes: They don’t ponder the odds or wait for more help when they know that wasted minutes can mean lost lives. That’s the real right stuff.