Jeff Morgan, Eric Moen and Greg Thrush — all members of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 — each received awards for heroism last month from the Washington County Fire Department No. 2 and the City of North Plains for their actions in rescuing three men in an accident that involved a Toyota Corolla and a tanker truck carrying hot asphalt.

Seven other men, all employees or retirees of Morgan Machinery Moving, also were recognized for their heroic actions assisting in the rescue. They were Joe Davis, a member of Seattle Millwrights Local 204, Pete Uhler, Joe Morgan, Lee Uhler, Scott Arlen, Nick Lau and Josh Sohler.

Morgan Machinery Moving is a North Plains business that transports heavy machinery. It has 130 employees said Jeff Morgan, president of the company.

On March 30, Eric Moen was heading home from work when he came upon an accident on Jackson School Road a few blocks from where the company is located.

“The tires (on the asphalt truck) were still spinning when he drove by,” said Jeff Morgan. Moen immediately called the office on his Nextel radio. “He told us there was a bad accident and to call 9-1-1, and to get over there to help,” Morgan told the NW Labor Press.

A tanker truck carrying hot asphalt had come to rest on top of a car and was spilling hot tar onto the vehicle. Two passengers were trapped in the car.

Earlier that day, Moen had been working from a 23-foot boom truck. He told his co-workers to bring the truck. In no time, the workers were on the scene. When rescue workers arrived, Morgan offered his crew’s services.

Using the boom truck, a large inflatable airbag and crib-ties, workers were able to lift the tar truck off of the car so the men could be rescued. The crib-ties are large pieces of wood that are placed under heavy machinery as it is lifted to prevent slippage, Morgan explained.

“Once we got the rig up, they started cutting right away,” Morgan told the Hillsboro Argus newspaper. “Once they lifted the roof off of the guy, he started moving right away.

“It’s just fortunate we were right down the road.”

All of Morgan’s employees are trained in first aid and CPR. Arlen, a volunteer firefighter in Banks, Ore., checked the vital signs of the men while trapped in the car.

Passengers Venancio Riscajche-Siquina, 19, and Domingo Sanchez-Lopez, 20, both of Hillsboro, and driver Jose Sanchez-Xiap, 20, of Aloha, were hospitalized with burns, broken bones and bruises. They have since been released.

The driver of the truck, Ronald Belt, 46, of McMinnville, was unhurt.

According to sheriff’s reports, the Corolla was northbound on Northwest Jackson School Road when it ran a stop sign at the intersection with Northwest West Union Road and T-boned the asphalt truck.

Rescue workers said the trapped men were lucky to be alive.

Morgan said that without the boom-truck, it might have been a half-hour or more before a tow truck and the proper emergency equipment were on the scene.