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Off-duty firefighter-paramedic saves man having heart attack

Lt. Wayne Smith wasn’t supposed to be playing in a hockey game the night a man collapsed on a bench from a heart attack

By EMS1 Staff

ELGIN, Ill. — An off-duty firefighter-paramedic was honored for saving a man’s life.

Chicago Tribune reported that Lt. Wayne Smith, who coaches hockey and plays in an adult league, was asked to fill in as a player. He heard people yelling to “call 911" when he got onto the ice. Dan Isola collapsed on a bench from a heart attack.

Lt. Smith began CPR and asked for the arena’s AED.

“I checked for a pulse. There was no pulse,” Smith said.

Lt. Smith shocked Isola three times before paramedics arrived.

Isola woke up eight days later in the ICU after being in a medication-induced coma.

“I remember driving to the rink and where I parked my car,” Isola said.

Lt. Smith said the incident proves how important AEDs and CPR are for survival rates.

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