Heart Association Middletown Firefighters Lauds for Saving Man's Life

Bringing a 62-year-old man back to life from cardiac arrest has earned honors from the American Heart Association for three members of Platoon C of Middletown’s South District Fire Department.    

Platoon Supervisor Lt. Christopher Gamache and firefighters Terence Keenan and Denise Rivera were recently presented with the Heart Association “Heartsaver Hero Awards” for their actions in reviving a man who collapsed while attending a wedding reception in April at the Polish Falcons Pavilion on Prout Hill Road.

The three were recommended for the award by the South District Fire Department Training Officer, Captain Michael Howley.   

Howley said the three firefighters responded on a 911 call and found the male in cardiac arrest with another wedding guest performing chest compressions.  

“The firefighters were on scene within minutes of the call and immediately recognized the need to use the automated external defibrillator device to restore the patient’s normal heart rythym” said Howley.   

Howley reported that use of the AED device had an immediate and positive result.  “By the time the man was in a Hunters Ambulance enroute to Middlesex Hospital, he was alert and talking” said Howley.   

Howley stated that after being stabilized at Middlesex, the man was transferred to Hartford Hospital for advanced cardiac care and since has been released.  

“Because Emergency Medical Calls constitute the majority of responses for the South District Fire Department, almost all of 30 firefighters and officers are Certified as Emergency Medical Technicians,” he said. 

The certificates presented to Lt. Gamache and firefighters Keenan and Rivera read,  “In recognition of advancing the mission of the American Heart Association and Emergency Cardiovascular Care through a courageous act in an effort to save a live.”  

The trio had completed their annual refresher training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of the AED device just a few weeks prior to the incident.  

“Refresher training in all aspects of their job from firefighting to medical to eescue and extrication is continuous throughout the year,” Howley said.  

The South District Fire Department serves a 21 square miles area stretching from the Route 17 connector south to the Haddam and Durham town lines and from Route 17 (South Main Street) east to the Connecticut River.   

The department responds to an average of 2,500 emergencies per year.