By Aaron Leo
Connecticut Post Online
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A sick 12-year-old boy whose heart stopped for several minutes Tuesday was recovering after firefighters and medics brought him back.
The Fire Department identified him as Jonathan Spaulding, of Sylvan Street. He was being treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital late Tuesday, where he was reported in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit, after being transferred from Bridgeport Hospital.
The boy, who has a history of illness, was in a hospital bed in his living room when he went into cardiac arrest, said acting Fire Lt. Dennis Rodgerson, who was supervising the Engine 15 fire company that responded. The driver was Pumper Engineer Timothy Richmond.
Firefighter Edward Voccola, a paramedic, assisted and Firefighter Erwin Voccola performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while American Medical Response medics created an airway to help Spaulding breathe. Lack of oxygen damages the brain in just a few minutes.
Spaulding began breathing and his pulse was restored in the ambulance, Rodgerson said.
“Everybody worked together really nicely,” Rodgerson said. That includes police, who had to calm the family to allow the rescuers to work.
“They were in a lot of pain,” he said of the family.
But in the end, the boy was saved. “I’m glad things worked out for him and his family,” Rodgerson said.
Fire Capt. Luis Rivera, department spokesman, said the firefighters “made a good save.”