On Saturday morning, a crew of firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Unit in Bolesławiec was heading to assess the length of an oil-derived substance spill. On Leśna Street in Bolesławiec, where the firefighters had been dispatched, they saw people calling for help and a man lying on the pavement. The man was unconscious and showed no signs of life (he was in cardiac arrest).
The firefighters began CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Meanwhile, the emergency medical team was notified. The firefighters and paramedics fought for the man’s life. The man regained consciousness in the ambulance and was taken to hospital.
You can see the entire operation in the video.
Kamil Barczyk, director of St. Luke’s Hospital in Bolesławiec:
Today, at 12:00, a 56-year-old patient was brought to the Emergency Department in Bolesławiec following sudden cardiac arrest. The patient was resuscitated by firefighters, is conscious and in moderately serious condition. The patient is in logical contact, and extended diagnostics are now being performed. He will most likely remain in our hospital for further, long-term treatment. (...) We will be able to say much more after the diagnostics.
The firefighters’ conduct and the speed with which they intervened meant that this patient is alive and his condition is stable (...). The patient was defibrillated as many as five times using an AED. This is a device that can decisively bring someone out of the serious situation of cardiac arrest. That is why it is so important for such devices to be available in public places and for firefighters and police officers to have them as part of their equipment.