Greenfield Fire, Police Life-Saving Efforts Recognized

In late April, a guest of Greenfield Police Captain Dave Patrick went unresponsive in the basement of Patrick’s Greenfield home.

The guest is alive thanks to the teamwork of the Greenfield police and fire departments.

When he discovered his guest had become unresponsive and pulseless, Patrick immediately began CPR, and directed others at the home to continue CPR while he called for advanced cardiac life support help. He also called for a Greenfield police squad to bring an automated external defibrillator.

Officers shocked the guest as soon as they arrived, minutes before Greenfield paramedics came to assume care of the patient.

The patient was eventually transported to the hospital and survived.

“The Greenfield Police and Fire Departments have recognized that if we turn our competitiveness into cooperation we can significantly improve the overall public safety and improve outcomes in our community,” Greenfield Fire Chief Jon Cohn said. “This call is an excellent example of just that. Our common mission is now to not compete but to cooperate.”

For their life-saving efforts, the fire department’s Josh Ackerman, Chad Weber, Andrew Greil, Jeremy Holm, Richard Shircel, James Graf, Mark Dahlman and Scott Schultz, along with Patrick, patrol sergeant Peter Regenfelder and officer Erik Lindstrom, earned a Great Saves/Teamwork award at the ERMED and Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center’s 2013 EMS Awards Ceremony at Steimke Auditorium on May 16.

Get great local stories like this on Facebook. Click to join us!

Teamwork awards are given to individuals or groups whose actions foster cooperation and unity among members of the emergency medical services community or who work together for the common good of the patient. Great Saves awards are given to individual or groups who performed exemplary actions in saving or attempting to save the life of another person.

Police Chief Brad Wentlandt said just prior to the incident, Patrick, Lindstrom and Regenfelder had completed CPR recertification presented by the fire department.

“(Patrick’s) quick thinking and calmness in starting CPR and then directing further rescue efforts until the arrival of the fire department saved the patient’s life,” Wentlandt said.

It was one of three awards for the city’s fire department. Six firefighters – Doug Tew, Garret Cieczka, Chad Tremelling, Dan Windler, Shircel and Trevor Paull - were recognized with a Great Saves/Teamwork award for saving a man who had a heart attack, a story previously profiled by Greenfield Patch.

Also, firefighter/paramedics Christopher Roehsler and Cieczka earned a teamwork award for their quick work with a 46-year-old man who suffered a stroke in February.