Astros honor HFD heroes for saving lives with pre-game ceremony
12:45 p.m., Wednesday, September 20, 2006 @ Minute Maid Park
Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds Game Time 1:05 p.m.
WHAT : HFD EMS will hold a reunion with a cardiac arrest survivor, James Russom, HFD crewmembers and individuals who helped him survive. Attendees include: EMS Physician Director Dr. David E. Persse, Fire Chief Phil Boriskie, Asst. Chief Adrian Treviño and HFD crews from Fire Station 8 and 9 and Mr. Russom’s coworkers who helped save his life.
WHEN: 12:45 p.m., Wednesday, September 20, 2006 (pre-game ceremony)
WHERE: Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St, Houston, TX
DETAILS: According to his coworkers, James Russom, an accountant for a major oil-and-gas company headquartered downtown Houston, was at the office printer picking up a print job Wednesday, August 4, 2005 when he fell and hit the edge of the machine. Russom fell to the floor, papers tightly clutched in his hand. Co-workers, whom Russom refers to as his guardian angels, went to Russom’s side. Russom’s heart had stopped beating. He was in cardiac arrest. One of Russom’s coworkers recalled that an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) was installed on the 45 th floor. They applied the defibrillator to Russom’s chest and began bystander CPR. Russom’s heart returned to a normal rhythm. HFD members arrived within minutes and conducted advanced life-support procedures. When Russom was stabilized, the HFD crew transported him to a local hospital where he received further treatment.
Russom does not recall anything about his heart attack. He said, “My most vivid memory about my heart attack is about a week later when I heard someone say, ‘Well, it’s time to go home now.’ I looked around amazed to find that I was in a hospital.”
As a result of Russom’s heroic skyscraper rescue, the oil-and-gas company has now installed defibrillators on every floor.