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Elgin Fire Department news

May 1

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Elgin Firefighter/Paramedic Lt. Wayne Smith wasn’t even supposed to be at the hockey rink in Rolling Meadows on March 13.

But Dan Isola, who collapsed on the bench from a heart attack that night, is glad he was.

Smith, 53, was honored by the Rolling Meadows City Council for helping to save Isola’s life. Smith, who lives in Rolling Meadows, coaches hockey and plays in an adult league, had been asked to fill in as a player for the 10:30 p.m. game. He was about to get onto the ice when he heard people yelling to “call 911.”

“I skated over to see what was going on,” Smith said, and found Isola. Smith and other players got him onto the mat under the bench and Smith began CPR and asked for the arena’s AED unit. He used the AED to shock Isola three times before paramedics arrived and he passed the rescue on to them.

Isola’s heart attack came just a few weeks before his 55th birthday, he said, adding that he had been playing hockey twice a week for years, and had no idea that he was at risk for a heart attack. He woke up eight days later in the ICU, having been put in a medication-induced coma.

Isola’s recovery is rare, Smith said. In the first six months of 2016, the Elgin Fire Department treated six patients who survived a serious heart attack — and one of those was released to a long-term care facility with minimal brain function, he said.

“So, five out of 33 full arrests survived neurologically intact. That is a rate of 15.15 percent — which is nearly double the national average … for 2015 which was 8.3 percent,” Smith said.

For Smith, it was another day on the job, but also shows how important AEDs and chest compressions/CPR are for survival rates. The department is seeking funding that would allow firefighters to carry AEDs in their personal cars so they could respond more quickly to heart attack calls, Smith said.

The department also is testing two devices that will do chest compressions automatically. The devices are similar to one used years ago, but more technologically advanced. The current standard of care is to give 100 compressions a minute, for up to 30 minutes. The devices would do that automatically and with less potential for injury to the firefighter or the patient.

thanks Dan

Tags: Dan Isola, Elgin Fire Department, Elgin Firefighter/Paramedic Lt. Wayne Smith, Elgin paramedic honored for off-duty save