Fire - News

Firefighters dine with man they saved

By Elizabeth Jackman
The Glendale Star

Daniel Lane said the last thing he remembered was being in the garage.

He later learned that he had been in the living room, when he began suffering a very serious heart attack. His wife, Melissa, quickly dialed 911.

“It would have been a totally different outcome if it weren’t for the firefighters,” Melissa said.

Last Wednesday, Daniel, 48, and his wife Melissa, 49, had lunch with the firefighters they credited with saving Daniel’s life.

The incident occurred July 19 at the Lane home near 83rd and Glendale avenues.

“He came in from the yard where had been doing some weeding and woke me up,” Melissa said. “He was complaining of pain in the shoulder he had injured several years ago. The pain became more and more intense and he fell to the floor, rolling around.”

Within five minutes of calling 911, firefighters arrived at the Lane home.

Fire Capt. Crystal Sorensen hooked Daniel up to a MRX heart monitor and quickly assessed he was having a serious heart attack.

“We shocked him eight times,” Sorensen said.

Deputy Fire Chief Chuck Montgomery said MRX heart monitors played an instrumental role in saving Daniel’s life.

“The elbow pain was actually referred cardiac pain,” Montgomery said. “He was in full cardiac arrest.”

By the time Daniel arrived at Banner Estrella Hospital, he was showing signs of improvement, but still unconscious.

“What shocks me is that four months ago, I went through a physical, had a stress test and everything was positive,” said Daniel, who is employed as a machinist. “My doctor said if I quit smoking I would be almost immortal.”

Fire Chief Mark Burdick said saving Daniel’s life was a coordinated effort between Glendale firefighters and emergency room staff at Banner Estrella.

“We are all very fortunate to have Mr. Lane with us today,” Burdick said.

Glendale firefighter and spokesperson Daniel Valenzuela said CPR played a critical role in saving Lane’s life.

“Statistics prove CPR saves lives,” Valenzuela said. “Performing CPR on someone in need will double those persons’ chances of survival.”

The Glendale Fire Department is offering free CPR lessons Sept. 21 for the first 100 people to sign up. To register, call (623) 930-3474.