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Off-duty Wis. fire chief helps save man in cardiac arrest

Chief Steven Davis said a woman in his neighborhood knocked on his door and said her son-in-law was not breathing

By Shanzeh Ahmad
The Wisconsin State Journal

MADISON, Wis. — Madison’s fire chief helped save a man from sudden cardiac arrest Saturday afternoon after a woman in his North Side neighborhood knocked on his door and said her son-in-law was not breathing.

The man’s wife had already begun chest compressions when Fire Chief Steven Davis, who was off duty, arrived at the neighbor’s home in the Cherokee Marsh neighborhood around 4:30 p.m.

Davis said it was the first time as chief that he used his AED, an automated external defibrillator, which all Madison Fire Department chiefs and PulsePoint-verified responders carry off-duty.

The man started breathing momentarily after Davis took over chest compressions and used the AED to deliver one shock. Paramedics arrived shortly after, Davis said, and took over.

After getting a pulse, the man was taken to UW Hospital and has since been recovering. He is expected to be released Tuesday, fire department spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster said.

Davis, who has been the fire chief since 2012, said although Cherokee Marsh is an older neighborhood that gets a decent amount of medical emergency calls, this was the most significant incident he has seen.

“We live in a fairly tight-knit neighborhood,” Davis said. “A couple years ago, a neighbor knocked and said his house was on fire.”

Davis said he followed the neighbor to his home and kept the fire at bay with a water hose until firefighters arrived.

Davis said he was a paramedic for five years, part of his 30 years with the Madison Fire Department.

“I’ve been on a lot of these types of calls in my life, so it’s kind of second nature,” Davis said.

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©2019 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)

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