Edenbridge fire fighteres save man after heart attack

Edenbridge fire fighters save man aftr heart attack

Two fire fighters from Edenbridge have been praised for their part in saving a man’s life after he suffered a heart attack. Fire fighters Gary Milan and Tim Pitman were called to the home of Brian Collins in Edenbridge after his wife Gini had called 999.

Gary Milan explained what happened, “Brian was clutching his chest when we arrived and a few minutes after we’d got there, he just pitched forward and went into full arrest. We immediately gave him oxygen and started resuscitation procedures before using the defibrillator to administer a shock. After a few minutes he took a massive breath and after 10 minutes he was able to talk to us again.
“I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach when we first saw him but I have now done quite a few of these over the past three years and the training just took over. It was quite an emotional time but we’re delighted to hear he is doing well.”

Fire fighters with the defibrillator machine

The two firefighters were sent to the address as part of the co-response scheme which is run by South East Coast ambulance Trust. The scheme involves fire fighters and other trained staff being sent to an emergency before an ambulance can reach the patient.
In this case the Edenbridge based fire fighters arrived in the nick of time and undoubtedly saved Mr Collins life.
Gini Collins had high praise for the firefighters’ actions. She said: “They were absolutely brilliant and there’s no doubt that they saved his life. When they first arrived I just thought they were paramedics and then all hell broke loose but they managed to bring him back and I can’t thank them enough for that.” Mr Collins was taken to hospital and is now recovering from his heart attack.