stm4710
04-08-2005, 10:24 PM
New Hampshire Firefighter Saves Instructor During CPR Course
BRUNO MATARAZZO Jr.
Foster's Daily Democrat
DOVER -- As a part-time CPR instructor at the Massachusetts Police Academy, Jen Myers spends hours teaching the state’s newest law enforcement personnel how to perform the life-saving procedure.
But just when Myers was about to begin a training session last month at the academy in Boylston, Mass., the Dover firefighter had to put her skills to use when another instructor and colleague fell to the ground after suffering a heart attack.
Myers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man until local firefighters responded to the scene.
Myers, who is a firefighter herself in Dover, is credited with saving the man’s life.
“You don’t expect it to happen right in front of you. It was one of those things where I was in the right place at the right time,” Myers said. “It turned out great for him.”
Myers was scheduled to work a half day on Feb. 17 when she and her colleague would split the class into group and conduct hands-on CPR training.
Just when Myers was about to get started, she heard a commotion from the police recruits in the man’s group, including, “Is this for real?”
It was.
The man was unconscious and not breathing after a sudden cardiac arrest.
Myers and another instructor performed CPR while the police recruits also helped out by calling 911 and getting supplies in the closet.
One item used was AED, or automatic external defibrillator, which sends volts of electricity to the heart.
When the apparatus was not used, Myers performed CPR for about 10 minutes until firefighters arrived and took over until the man arrived at the hospital.
Myers could not disclose the instructor’s name but said he is alive and was able to leave the hospital five days after suffering the heart attack.
“I have not spoken to him since but I’ve spoken to my boss at the academy and told they told him he’s on the road to recovery,” she said.
While this is not the first time Myers performed CPR, it was the first time she witnessed a heart attack and was able to act quickly because of her training as an emergency medical technician.
Prior to joining Dover Fire & Rescue in November, Myers worked as a volunteer in the Atkinson Fire Department. She teaches at the academy on her day off.
Reprinted with permission of Foster's Daily Democrat
BRUNO MATARAZZO Jr.
Foster's Daily Democrat
DOVER -- As a part-time CPR instructor at the Massachusetts Police Academy, Jen Myers spends hours teaching the state’s newest law enforcement personnel how to perform the life-saving procedure.
But just when Myers was about to begin a training session last month at the academy in Boylston, Mass., the Dover firefighter had to put her skills to use when another instructor and colleague fell to the ground after suffering a heart attack.
Myers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man until local firefighters responded to the scene.
Myers, who is a firefighter herself in Dover, is credited with saving the man’s life.
“You don’t expect it to happen right in front of you. It was one of those things where I was in the right place at the right time,” Myers said. “It turned out great for him.”
Myers was scheduled to work a half day on Feb. 17 when she and her colleague would split the class into group and conduct hands-on CPR training.
Just when Myers was about to get started, she heard a commotion from the police recruits in the man’s group, including, “Is this for real?”
It was.
The man was unconscious and not breathing after a sudden cardiac arrest.
Myers and another instructor performed CPR while the police recruits also helped out by calling 911 and getting supplies in the closet.
One item used was AED, or automatic external defibrillator, which sends volts of electricity to the heart.
When the apparatus was not used, Myers performed CPR for about 10 minutes until firefighters arrived and took over until the man arrived at the hospital.
Myers could not disclose the instructor’s name but said he is alive and was able to leave the hospital five days after suffering the heart attack.
“I have not spoken to him since but I’ve spoken to my boss at the academy and told they told him he’s on the road to recovery,” she said.
While this is not the first time Myers performed CPR, it was the first time she witnessed a heart attack and was able to act quickly because of her training as an emergency medical technician.
Prior to joining Dover Fire & Rescue in November, Myers worked as a volunteer in the Atkinson Fire Department. She teaches at the academy on her day off.
Reprinted with permission of Foster's Daily Democrat