Dixon Rural fire chief presented award for saving gunshot victim’s life

DIXON – Right place, right time.

That’s the best way to describe how Dixon Rural Fire Chief Dustin Dahlstrom played a role in saving the life of a Tampico man who had accidentally shot himself in a Sterling parking lot in April.

Dahlstrom’s actions were detailed at Tuesday’s Dixon Rural Fire Protection District board meeting, where the man he saved presented Dahlstrom with the department’s Lifesaving Award.

The lifesaving action happened April 30, when Dahlstrom was attending a physical therapy appointment in Sterling with his wife, Sarah. A young man burst into the waiting room looking for help, as someone had accidentally shot themselves in the parking lot. The victim, Robert Schiefelbein, 59, of Tampico, had just left the waiting room and gone out to the car, where he was holstering his concealed-carry weapon.

“It took me a minute to realize what happened,” Schiefelbein said. “I saw a guy just about ready to go into the building, so I shouted, ‘I just got shot.’”

Out came Dahlstrom and Schiefelbein’s physical therapist, Briane Hamstra. The two got to work applying pressure and placing a tourniquet, which brought a torrent of screams from the victim.

“I don’t remember a lot of what I said, but I know I used some colorful language, so I’m sorry for that,” Schiefelbein quipped.

The tourniquet was working, and the blood flow slowed. Schiefelbein was quickly flown to Rockford for treatment of his injuries. Nicking a secondary artery, Schiefelbein had lost 1 to 1½ liters of blood. Doctors concluded that he was seconds away from certain death.

Schiefelbein is especially thankful for how Dahlstrom comforted his 16-year-old daughter, Paige, who was visibly and understandably upset. Amid the chaos, the chief explained the process and consoled Paige in her time of need.

Schiefelbein himself presented the award to Dahlstrom.

“If it hadn’t been for the chief, I wouldn’t be here now. My kids would be fatherless,” Schiefelbein said. “I don’t know what to say other than to say thank you.”