East Side Fire saves a life in 30 minutes
A Life Flight helicopter arrives on scene June 11 at Beauty Bay Marina where two members of East Side Fire District responded to a cardiac arrest call. Thanks to bystanders and responding East Side members assisting with CPR, the man in cardiac arrest survived.
Photo courtesy of East Side Fire District
Kootenai County Sheriff's Office personnel and a Life Flight helicopter are on scene June 11 at Beauty Bay Marina where a man went into cardiac arrest. Quick CPR action by bystanders and members of the East Side Fire District helped save the man's life.
Members of East Side Fire District happened to be in the right place at the right time to save a life in a quick 30 minutes earlier this month.
East Side reported Tuesday that Deputy Chief Charlotte Pegoraro was pulling onto Burma Road in her command vehicle at 12:15 p.m. when a call came on her radio for a “cardiac arrest with CPR in progress” at Beauty Bay Marina.
Although the marina is about 100 feet outside East Side’s area of service, Pegoraro knew she was the closest to respond. She arrived at the scene at 12:23 p.m. and found the patient’s daughter and a bystander performing CPR. East Side firefighter Kevin Cozad and his wife also happened to be in the area so they stopped to assist with CPR.
Below is a timeline of the events:
12:15 p.m. Page went out for cardiac arrest.
12:23 p.m. Pegoraro on scene.
12:30 p.m. Kootenai County Sheriff's Office boat arrived.
12:31 p.m. Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Engine 14 and Coeur d'Alene Fire boat arrived.
12:33 p.m. Medic 32 arrived.
12:40 p.m. After multiple defibrillation attempts, a heartbeat was restored.
12:44 Life Flight landed.
"So much happened during those 30 minutes, and with seamless integration of all of these agencies," Pegoraro said. "Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing and executed it amazingly well. It speaks volumes to the quality emergency medical services in Kootenai County."
Pegoraro said this incident serves as a reminder of the importance of good bystander CPR before the arrival of first responders.
"In this instance, as fast as EMS response was, without good bystander CPR, the outcome would probably not be as good," she said.
Thanks to a rapid response by all, the man who went into cardiac arrest and his family had much to celebrate on Father’s Day.
Pegoraro has been in touch with the family. The survivor was released from the hospital Monday.
Based in Harrison, East Side Fire District is an all-volunteer department serving the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
