Mich. Firefighters Use AED, CPR to Save Engine Driver

A Saginaw firefighter has two colleagues to thank for saving his life last week.

While returning from a fire last week, the engine stopped, then started to roll through a light although it hadn't yet turned.

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Lt. Christopher McGowan, 37, and firefighter Brandon Hausbeck, 24, immediately suspected something was amiss. And, they were right. The driver was in cardiac arrest.

McGowan pulled the emergency brake, and Hausbeck helped him get their friend out of the driver's seat and onto the ground.

The two, who also are EMTs,  hooked him up to an AED, which told them a shock was indicated.

The jolt restarted the heart into a good rhythm, and he started to come around, they told The Saginaw News.

A Saginaw police officer drove the firefighter to Covenant Healthcare Hospital just a few blocks away. 

The stricken firefighter, who asked not to be named, was expected to be released late Monday.