Quick Thinking Bystanders Save Man's Life

On Saturday, February 19th a 35 year old man was enjoying an afternoon lunch at the Red Robin restaurant at the Westfield Connecticut Post Mall when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest. It is only because of the quick thinking of some trained individuals that this person is now alive.

When this male collapsed the Manager of the Red Robin, Curtis Kilburn quickly notified 911 and also called Westfield Mall Security to respond. Two bystanders, Jeanne DeMello (a nurse) and Mark Kipstein (an off duty New York City Firefighter), quickly began performing Cardio Pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the man that had collapsed and was not breathing and had no pulse or heartbeat.

Quickly Westfield Mall security personnel brought with them an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and hooked up the patient to the machine within minutes of the collapse. Mall Security personnel Brian Carson and Michael Todd allowed the machine to analyze the individuals heart rhythm and assisted the machine in performing a “shock” because the heart was in ventricular fibrillation. This one shock was instrumental in placing the individuals heart rate back into a normal rhythm.

Within four minutes of the initial 911 call, the Milford Fire Department Paramedics were on the scene and provided Advanced Life Support to the male patient to stabilize his cardiac rhythm and assist in providing oxygen. The patient was then transported to Milford Hospital by American Medical Response ambulance with the Milford Fire Department Paramedics assisting with the transport.

Fire department spokesman Capt. Chris Zak said, "Recently the City of Milford was awarded the designation of a HEART SAVER Community. This type of action and response shows that lives can be saved when all the factors are in place and performed in a timely fashion. It is only because of the actions of all the individuals mentioned that this male patient is alive today."