Quick Response in Portsmouth Saves Man

For Portsmouth Police Auxiliary Officer Andy Nitschelm, it was just another road detail day filled with blistering sunshine and road dust, according to Capt. Frank S. Warchol of the Portsmouth Police Department. But little did he know that this particular detail had put him in the right place at the right time.

Nitschelm was working at the intersection of Willard Avenue and Ash Street on Monday when he happened to strike up a conversation with a painter who was doing business across the street from his location.

They exchanged pleasantries and held a short conversation about paint colors before he went about his painting job.

“Approximately 30 minutes after my conversation with him,” Nitschelm said, “I heard a crashing sound. I turned around just in time to see the man I was just speaking to falling through the air and hitting the ground.”

Nitschelm immediately ran to the man’s aid and radioed the emergency dispatch center to start an ambulance to his location.

“I just held his head and told him to stay still as he kept trying to stand up. I just did what I needed to do,” he said.

Earlier today, the victim’s wife (whom also was not identified) came to the Portsmouth Police Department to express her sincere gratitude for the quick actions of Nitschelm. She wrote in a letter, in part, “Thank you so much, you are a blessing….your quick actions and thinking saved my husband’s life. My husband would be in much worse shape if it was not for you.”

The unidentified man had fallen 20-plus feet while painting the third story of a home. He was brought to the hospital where he suffered serious internal injuries but it is understood that he is expected to make a full recovery.