Crime & Safety
West Bloomfield Firefighters to be Honored for Saving Heart Attack Victims
Township board to recognize life-saving work.
Several West Bloomfield firefighters are being honored for life-saving rescue work.
The West Bloomfield Township board tonight will recognize nine men for their work during calls on Oct. 10 and Dec. 9, 2010, “where lives were saved as a direct result of their efforts,” according to a resolution that is to be presented tonight.
Joshua Sherbin was spending a Sunday morning in October at the café in West Bloomfield, catching up on email while his children were in religious school, he said. Suddenly, the Bloomfield Hills resident went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the floor. Jacob Lewkow, a Plum Market employee, saw Sherbin fall and immediately began administering CPR until the rescue team arrived a few minutes later.
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The rescue team treated Sherbin with an automated external defibrillator that restored his breathing and circulation. He was then taken to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, said West Bloomfield firefighter/paramedic Mike Wood. Sherbin has since made a full recovery.
“This is a great example of how knowing CPR can save someone’s life,” said Sherbin, who had no prior symptoms or family history of heart disease.
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Quick response and operation saved a life
Lt. Rich Paul and firefighter/advanced emergency medical technician (FF/AEMT) Robert Cupp were on duty Dec. 9 when Gary Kraft’s wife called to report that her husband was experiencing mild chest pain and pressure. According to Paul, Kraft's wife insisted her husband call 911. The emergency team administered and EKG and transmitted it to Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, which showed Kraft had 100 percent blockage in one artery. Surgery was performed within minutes of his arrival at the hospital.
“The chilling thing was when the doctor came out and talked to his (Kraft’s) wife,” Paul said. “When she told him that her husband hadn’t wanted her to call 911, the doctor said that waiting would have been a fatal mistake.”
According to Paul, emergency crews in West Bloomfield average 19 calls during a 24-hour shift; about 85 percent of those are medical. He urges residents to call 911 if they experience abnormal symptoms such as rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath.
“If the thought of calling 911 enters your head, then you should call,” he said. “If you run 25 yards and you’re out of breath, that’s normal. If you take two steps, and you’re out of breath, your body is trying to tell you something.”
Women experiencing heart attacks often present different symptoms than men, such as gastric discomfort instead of severe chest pain, Cupp said.
“With the heart, time is tissue,” Cupp said. “The more time you wait, the more tissue damage there is.”
West Bloomfield Fire Chief Jay Wiseman attributes the outstanding service and positive outcomes of these incidents to the ongoing township support for his department and the public safety millage funding, which comes up for renewal this fall.
“I am very proud of the men and women of the West Bloomfield Fire Department,” he said. “I could not ask for a more professional, committed and capable group of individuals, nor could I ask for a more supportive community than we have right here in West Bloomfield.”
Certificates of Excellence and service pins from the Oakland Country Medical Control Authority for “providing exceptional patient care and completing outstanding documentation” were awarded to: Capt. Dan Dawe, Lt. Rich Paul, Inspector Byron Turnquist and FF/AEMTs Mike Wood, Rick Reed, Adam Mcfall, Michael Werner, Ryan Glashauser and Robert Cupp.
Plum Market employee Lewkow also received recognition from the Control Authority.