For the second time in two years, Brighton Fire Chief Rick Caddick was celebrated for his part in resuscitating a cardiac arrest victim.
Since 2015, Northumberland County has honoured its first responders who have successfully resuscitated a cardiac arrest patient, with a Lightning Bolt award.
An annual event, survivors are invited to meet with the paramedics, dispatchers, and firefighters that saved their lives, although most don’t attend.
Northumberland County CAO Jennifer Moore told of 12 success stories from last year, where teamwork was involved…from dispatch to those on site.
One of those stories originated in a Cramahe call, before involving then Deputy Chief Caddick.
Paramedics received a call on October 3, 2017, and responded to a Colborne dental office for an elderly woman in cardiac arrest. They arrived moments later and revived her.
Considering her to be a high risk, and with time being of the essence, Northumberland paramedics Kristy O’Shaughnessy and Dave Meyer, in consultation with Superintendent Rob McColeman, made the call to leave for Trenton Memorial Hospital without waiting for Cramahe Fire to arrive.
The woman coded again enroute, and that’s when Brighton Fire Department got involved.
‘They called ahead, and with only Chief Lloyd’ Hutchinson and Caddick in the hall at the time, they hopped in a truck, and rushed eastbound on Cty Rd 2, meeting the ambulance at Huff Road.
”Lloyd dropped me off and I hopped into the ambulance and headed off,” Caddick said. “I don’t usually jump into ambulances, but we did what we had to do.”
Caddick said the woman had to be revived one more time before arriving at TMH, and that she was conscious and talking by the time they transferred her into the hospital’s care.
”It was an unusual circumstance,” Caddick said. “They had to leave without help, and you need at least two people in the back to perform CPR and defib.”
Survivor Day is also meant to stress the importance of CPR training for the general public whose part in many of these success stories is key.
Link to original article in Quinte News: Brighton Fire Chief honoured with “Lightning Bolt” Award