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Teen firefighter revives colleague with newly-learned techniques

Grafton Fire Department volunteer firefighter Daniel Dowty resuscitated a coworker at his second job less than a month after becoming certified

By FireRescue1 Staff

GRAFTON, Wis. — A teen volunteer firefighter used his newly-learned skills to save a coworker who had become unconscious.

MSN reported that Grafton Fire Department part-time volunteer firefighter Daniel Dowty, 18, became certified less than a month before having to put his skills to the test when a coworker at his second job collapsed.

“He was working in the storage room when he heard some commotion, maybe somebody falling,” Chief Bill Rice said. “He went over to check, and noticed it was a coworker who collapsed.”

Dowty administered CPR after realizing the coworker did not have a pulse and was unconscious, and officials said his quick thinking in the minutes before paramedics arrived might have saved the patient’s life.

“When you look at the survival rates of people who are pulseless, non-breathing; early CPR is the key to reviving those people,” Rice said. “In this case, Daniel was able to provide early CPR, and that’s why he made a difference.”

Dowty has been involved in the fire department since he was 14, and hopes to become a full-time firefighter after high school. He also plans to attend the University of Wisconsin.

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