By Scott Giebel
The Lima News
OTTAWA, Ohio — It was a day of remembrance and recognition Wednesday afternoon as a ceremony was held to honor those who helped save lives during two recent cardiac arrest incidents.
In both of the emergencies, bystanders began CPR before first responders arrived, and when fire personnel arrived on scene, they were able to apply external defibrillators. EMS was eventually able to restore a pulse in both patients.
| MORE: Six minutes to live: Inside the push to save cardiac arrest victims
During the ceremony, Pandora-Riley Township Volunteer Fire Department, Continental Volunteer Fire Department, Kaitlyn Sybert, Patsy Arthur and Carey Arthur were all honored for what they had done to save two lives.
The first incident happened on April 15, 2026, when the Pandora-Riley Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call of an unresponsive male who had been electrocuted. When they arrived on scene, a firefighter was already giving the man CPR.
“The teamwork was immense, and getting quality CPR going on arrival, as well as recognizing that he was in cardiac arrest and deploying everything in a timely manner, really gave him a good chance of successful resuscitation,” said Craig Fischer, chief of the Pandora-Riley Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Before the firefighters even arrived, Sybert, who was the neighbor of the man who went into cardiac arrest, sprang into action and started giving him CPR.
“My husband, my kids and I were outside enjoying Mother’s Day, doing some outdoor work, when we heard our neighbor fall, and we weren’t really sure what had happened, so we went over and saw he was in cardiac arrest,” Sybert said. “His wife did not know how to do CPR, which most people don’t, so I immediately began giving it to him.”
Sybert said she knew CPR because she is an ultrasound tech at OBGYN Specialists of Lima , and she learned in college. She also said she felt honored to be recognized for helping out and encouraged others to learn CPR.
The second incident involved Arthur and her husband, whose neighbor came over to ask if they could help her.
“We were in our yard working when our neighbor lady came over and asked my husband to come and help her, so we went over to the house and saw that her husband was in cardiac arrest, so my husband said to call 9/11 right away, and he helped her husband onto the floor and started to do CPR,” Patsy Arthur said.
Continental Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Dean Williamson and Putnam County Department of Public Safety Director Brian Hilvers both spoke about how important it is to know CPR, even if it’s just an awareness class.
“People need to know that CPR is a valuable thing to learn, and it can save lives, as we have saved quite a few lives in our county just by starting CPR,” Hilvers said. “The more we get out, the better chance we have of survival. We are also starting a campaign in the county to teach people about CPR.”
Williamson added people in the community should want to know CPR and that even taking an awareness class, which teaches you how to do the compressions, can be very important.
© 2026 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio).
Visit www.limaohio.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.