Firefighters Save Man in Cardiac Arrest

FDNY Insider 8/17/09

Engine 289 pulling out of quarters

As temperatures climbed into the 90s on Aug. 17, a roofer in Queens collapsed and went into cardiac arrest.

The good news was the building on which he was working was adjacent to Engine 289 and Ladder 138. The firefighters thought on their feet and saved his life.

“This was a great response,” said Firefighter Chris Miller from Ladder 138.

He said several men ran to the firehouse at around 1 p.m. and told them a coworker was having a heart attack.

He and Firefighter Jack Rhinehardt ran to the building and climbed to the roof, where they found the man in his 50s.

“He was just lifeless,” said Firefighter Miller. “We thought he might have had heat exhaustion, but we couldn’t find a pulse.”

They began performing CPR as the members of Engine 289 drove their apparatus to 43rd Avenue and extended their bucket, filled with medical supplies, to the roof.

They shocked him with a defibrillator and were able to restore his pulse with some erratic breathing.

Paramedics then arrived and intubated the victim. They then packaged him and lowered him using the engine’s bucket.

He was transported to Elmhurst Hospital, where he is recovering. And the roofers went right back to work.

Firefighter Miller credited their quick response - shocking his heart within five minutes of him collapsing - as the key to saving his life, saying simply, “It was a great team effort.”