For Immediate Release

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 978-743-0004
Email: [email protected]

Pepperell Police and Fire Use New Tools to Save a Life

PEPPERELL — Police Chief David Scott and Fire Chief Toby Tyler are very pleased to report that Pepperell firefighters and police officers saved the life of a unresponsive patient during a medical emergency call Saturday morning.

At 9:30 a.m., the Pepperell Communications Department received a 911 call for an unresponsive, non-breathing adult male at a residence on Hollis Street. Officer Michael Kenney and Detective Jay Friend arrived within minutes and found a 67-year-old man on the floor of the home in cardiac arrest, with his adult son performing chest compressions.

Pepperell officers took over CPR from the patient’s son as Pepperell EMT Melissa Schrader arrived on scene.

The three first responders continued CPR and utilized the police department’s Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to shock the patient.  Schrader and other responding EMS personnel then utilized the Fire Department’s brand new LUCAS 3 Chest Compression System to take over chest compressions.  The LUCAS device performs consistent, accurate chest compressions without experiencing fatigue, as humans do when performing CPR.

The first responders were able to revive the patient, and he was conscious and talking to them in the ambulance. The patient was transported to a nearby hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

The LUCAS 3 was recently purchased through a grant though the Nashoba Valley Health Fund from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts and the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.

“This is the first time we used our new Lucas machine, and it performed above and beyond our expectations,” said EMT Schrader.  “The patient showed promising signs of recovery prior to leaving his home and was talking to the ambulance crew prior to arriving at the hospital.”

Chief Scott praised the work of all parties involved, including the victim’s son, the police officers, and EMT Schrader.

“This was a great example of community teamwork,“ he said. “The subject’s son performing chest compressions was vital, and as always, our police, fire and communications departments worked very well together to save a life.”

This is the second life saved by Pepperell first responders this week. Earlier in the week, an opioid overdose victim was revived with Narcan, which is carried by both the police and fire departments.

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