WILLIAMSVILLE
Rescue personnel to meet man they saved
Williamsville firefighters and Twin City paramedics are traveling to Poughkeepsie this week to meet a man whose life they saved in April when he went into cardiac arrest while visiting his daughter in Williamsville.
On the night of April 26, Jerry Duquette fell ill, ambulance officials said. His family thought he may have suffered a stroke and called 911.
Capt. Jack Oehmler and firefighters John Pidgeon, Mike Vogel, Chris Manning and Tim Petrie arrived three minutes later and began CPR. Less than a minute later, paramedics Brad Smith and Tom Gullickson arrived and put Duquette on “AutoPulse,” a device that gives strong chest compressions.
Duquette was transported to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, where he spent nine days before walking out. He is now healthy enough to resume regular rounds of golf.
The firefighters and paramedics will go to Poughkeepsie on Friday and will demonstrate AutoPulse at a local fire hall.
