Mass. EMS Pair Honored for Life-saving Action

Jan. 28--It was the start of the Feaster Five on Thanksgiving Day and Andover Firefighters David Eulie and Jameson Lockhart were in the town ambulance, rolling along at the back of the pack to pick up anyone who might twist an ankle or somehow injure themselves along the 5K route.

As they got about 100 yards from the start/finish line on North Main Street, they saw two bystanders waving frantically for the ambulance to stop.

According to Fire Chief Michael Mansfield, Eulie and Lockhart hopped out and found a man on the road having a seizure. The man, who had started running in the race with his wife, had some prior health issues, his wife told the firefighters.

He was able to speak to them briefly, then began seizing again, Mansfield said.

"Then he went into full cardiac arrest," Mansfield said.

Eulie and Lockhart quickly got to work, doing CPR and administering three shocks with the defibrillator. As they worked on him, paramedics from Lawrence General Hospital arrived to offer him additional care and transport him to Lawrence General Hospital.

From there, he was flown by helicopter to a Boston hospital for emergency treatment.

For their life-saving work, Eulie and Lockhart were honored last week by the Exchange Club of Lawrence as Merrimack Valley Firefighters of the Year.

The 2016 Public Safety Awards were given out as part of an annual event at the Wyndham Andover Hotel last Thursday evening. Some 300 people attended the event.

Mansfield said he was proud of the work the firefighters did that day.

"Had they not been there, it would have been a different outcome," he said. "It was a good save. By the time they got him to hospital, he was back to normal."

In fact, Mansfield said, the man, whose name was not available, has already been back to the station a couple of times to thank the two firefighters who saved his life.

Wheelabrator North Andover was the principal event sponsor.

The Exchange Club of Lawrence is a chapter of the national service organization focusing upon community service, Americanism, youth, and the prevention of child abuse.

Copyright 2016 - Andover Townsman, Mass.