Firefighters Doing More Than Just Rescue Work

Firefighters came to the rescue at Thursday's , in more ways than one.

About 4:45 pm, a woman in her 70s collapsed at the market.

Paramedics and firefighters tended to the woman and determined she should be taken to the hospital. She was conscious and alert when she was taken to Kaiser Vallejo via ambulance.

The woman is the mother of market vendor Laurel Barth of Cakes by Laurel of Benicia. After the ambulance left, Benicia firefighters James Ensley and Vince Parga helped Barth pack up her booth and load her car so she could get to Kaiser quickly.

“That's the great thing about living in Benicia,” Barth said. “Our fire guys here are just great.” The firefighters were thanked with pieces of carrot cake and red velvet cake.

Barth's mother was being treated at Kaiser Vallejo. Dehydration was suspected.