Tuesday, June 13, 2000 at 7:56 West Manatee Station 4 received a call for a minor vehicle accident at 59th St W and Manatee Ave. The EMS unit assigned to that station was already committed to another call. Medic 10 responded from some distance away. West Manatee units were 1st on scene to a vehicle crash with minor vehicle damage, Bradenton Fire units were close behind. They found a 47 y/o female in cardiac arrest. She was removed from the vehicle and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was begun. Next an Automatic External Defibrillator (an AED) was used. The machine evaluated her heart rhythm and advised that the patient needed to be shocked (defibrillated). Fire personnel appropriately defibrillated two times using the AED. The patient’s heart was converted to a life sustaining rhythm just as EMS arrived on scene. EMS then provided the patient with advanced life support procedures and transported a viable patient to Blake hospital where she is now awake, alert and recovering.
AED’s were placed into service on West Manatee fire units in 1997. These units were purchased and placed into service with the support and assistance of West Manatee’s Medical Director, Dr. Joseph M. Soler, and the Board of Fire Commissioners.
West Manatee Personnel on scene:
Battalion Chief Rich Losek
Captain Ernie Cave
Firefighter Jeff Lonzo
Firefighter Chris O’Kelly
Volunteer Firefighter John Ingold
Volunteer Firefighter Bill Booth