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| Rochester, NY Fire Department Engine 5 |
When was the last time you stopped a Firefighter, EMT, Paramedic, or lifeguard, and thanked them for what they do?
Save lives.
Chances are you never have.
I know I never did, until Miami Beach, Florida Fire Department's Ocean Rescue South Beach lifeguards Andy Lindberg, Kevin Stockhausen and Mike Petker, saved my life when I almost drowned while on vacation with my children on July 18, 2012.
I will never forget what these real heroes told me when I came back to the beach a couple of days later to thank them.
Andy Lindbergh told me in the 20-plus years he's been saving lives, no one had ever thanked him.
In fact, they all seemed surprised that I would go to see them before returning to Rochester, just to thank them.
A couple of months later, I became emotional after receiving an email which said that these three men, as well as Ms. Toni Bucacci, a Lieutenant who assisted, would be presented with an award by the City of Miami Beach, Florida for saving my life.
My experience made me realize just how underappreciated these heroes are.
A YouTube video of Rochester, NY firefighters, shows what most people not only rarely see, but also take for granted, when it comes to these life savers.
On Monday, firefighters from Rochester, NY's Engine 5, Group 1, saved a man's life after he suffered a heart attack right across the street from the Lyell Avenue fire station.
The man, identified in the video as "Artie" was driving a delivery truck when he collapsed at the wheel.
Joe Ignizio, and his brother Frank, quickly jumped in the truck after it hit a utility pole, unfastened Artie's seatbelt, and assisted in getting him out of the truck.
That's when RFD Engine 5 firefighters went to work on Artie, who had stopped breathing, and was turning purplish in color.
As you can see in the video below, firefighters relentlessly worked on the man, never slowing down.
Never giving up.
Until they had a pulse.
In the video description, Ignizio also describes how onlookers helped assist in the "miracle", by calling 911, running to the firehouse for help, and praying, while others "chanted encouragement".
Thank you Engine 5.
Note: Artie is recovering and doing good.
I went to the Engine 5 firehouse to get the names of these real life heroes, but they were not working, and a Lt. said he wanted to check with them first before releasing their names.
Click Play to watch video
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