October 4, 2024

_1JF8174 — Life savers honored at Concordville Fire Co.

Concordville Fire Co. EMS honored 10 people Thursday night for saving the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest while shopping at Target. According to Concordville EMS Capt. Joe O’Leary, the incident happened on July 15.

During the award presentation, O’Leary said the patient went into sudden cardia arrest and was unresponsive. Store personnel and an off-duty nurse who was at the store checkout line went into action immediately but were having no success in resuscitating the man. EMTs showed up and were able to bring him back to consciousness in about 15 minutes and within another five minutes, he was awake and talking and his vital signs were back to normal.

“Suddden cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart is unable to beat effectively or not at all, resulting in a loss of pulse and respiratory drive,” O’Leary explained. “Despite the hard work of provider teams, many patients either expire at the scene or later at the hospital. In the United States, the national average of those who are successfully resuscitated from sudden cardiac arrest is approximately 30 percent. Those who are successfully resuscitated and return to a normal quality of life are less than 10 percent.”

The Target shopper is in that 10 percent. He was transferred to Riddle Memorial Hospital where he went through successful cardiac catheterization and had an internal defibrillator installed.

“If it wasn’t for the efforts of everybody involved from start to finish [the other customer, store staff, Delaware County Emergency Services and the EMS teams from Concordville Fire Co.] that gentleman would probably not still be with us,” O’Leary said.

The people honored are Brett Osborne, Nico Matonti, and Jackson Tracey from Target, Dan Harold and Josh Going from Delaware County Department of Emergency Services, Carlie Fiorentini from Crozer EMS, Tom Nauss, John Poole, Jay Mueller, and Steve Syska from Concordville, and nurse Katie Crawford who happened to be in the same checkout line when the patient collapsed.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

Road Report Oct. 7 to Oct. 11

Along the Ford

PennDOT has announced the following weather-dependent road projects that could affect drivers in the greater Chadds Ford area from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11. Motorists are urged to allow extra time traveling through one of the construction zones. Work schedules are subject to change.

• From Sunday, Oct. 6, through Friday, Oc. 11, motorists should expect alternating lane closures in both directions on Route 202 between the Delaware state line and Oakland Road in Concord and Chadds Ford townships for milling and paving.

• Overhead utility work will continue causing daytime lane shifts on Cheyney between Mill Race Place and Concord Road, on Concord Road between Station Road and Overfield Lane, and on Valleybrook Road between Route 1 and Llewelyn Road in Concord Township through Nov. 26

• Utility replacement will cause daytime lane closures on W. Market Street between New and Church streets in West Chester through Nov. 30.

• Utility and road construction will cause daytime lane closures on S. High. Street between E. Miner Street and Rosedale Avenue through Dec. 31.

• Utility relocation and road widening will cause daytime lane closures on Route 1 from the Kennett/Oxford Bypass to Greenwood Road through Dec. 20.

• Vegetation management work will continue causing daytime lane closures on multiple roads in Kennet and East Marlborough townships into mid-October.

• Gas main installation will cause daytime road closures on High Street between E. Union and E. Barnard streets in West Chester through Dec. 7.

• Overhead utility work will cause daytime lane shifts on Conchester Highway between Bed Lane and Foulk Road in Concord Township through Nov. 26. Also affected will be Smithbridge Road between Valleybrook Road and Conchester.

• A high friction surface treatment will take place during daytime hours on Concord Road between Tuscany and Station roads in Concord Township through Nov. 23. Flaggers will control traffic flow.

• Roundabout construction will force a full road closure of Route 926 between Route 841 (Chatham Road. Coatesville Road) and Route 796 (Daleville Jennersville Road), in Londonderry, London Grove, and West Marlborough townships through Oct. 30. Detours will be posted.

• Construction continues to replace Twin Bridges, the South Creek Road bridge over the Brandywine between Chadds Ford and Pennsbury townships. Work is expected to continue through fall 2025. South Creek Road will be closed 1,200 feet south of Bullock Road and 1.1 miles north of Cossart Road. During the closure, motorists are directed to use U.S. 1, Route 52, Center Meeting Road, and Delaware State Route 100 (Montchanin Road). Bicyclists traveling Bike Route L will be directed to use Bullock Road, Ring Road, Ridge Road, and Delaware State roadway Smithbridge Road.