Four People Save Man's Life on Fourth of July

Most people spent the Fourth of July celebrating with friends, watching fireworks and chowing down on BBQ — but three Wilmette Parks Department employees spent part of theirs saving a life. 

Katy Bradford, Adam Price and Billy Maloney jumped into action during their Fourth of July shifts at the Wilmette lakefront when a call came in that a man was suffering a heart attack. Thanks to their quick thinking and training, the trio (assisted by a sailor on the beach) were able to save his life. The group was honored at a Parks Department Board meeting on July 8.

"Thanks to your prompt response and quick thinking, you've saved a life," said Amy Wolfe, a Parks Board member, at the meeting. "I commend you all. Not only did you save him, but you saved his family. ... I'm proud to live in a town where people look out for their neighbors and are always ready to help someone in need."

A call came into the lifeguards around 6 p.m. on Independence Day that a man was having a heart attack and was unresponsive. Price was the first lifeguard on the scene. He joined sailor Phil Andrews — who was doing compressions — and began giving the victim breaths. 

"I've been doing this for eight years now, and nothing like this has ever happened," Price told Patch. "I was the first to [get to the scene] and I thought, 'you're the one who needs to act — it's only you.' So I took a three-second survey to take it all in."

Price noted that within moments, he was joined by co-workers Bradford and Maloney with the Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Bradford and Maloney began to take over giving breaths and prepping oxygen, while Price began applying the AED to the victim. (The AED shocks the body through pads stuck to the victim's chest.)

"When he woke up, the Fire Department told me to take off the AED pads. I did, and he said 'Whoa' and pushed me away," Price said. "That was probably the most important moment for me — I knew that he was not only alive, but there was no brain damage." 

It was Maloney's first day in the lifeguard chair and out on the beach — and only two days after his 16th birthday. 

"I had just started my shift and I heard this on the radio," Maloney said. "I was hoping there would be a crowd of lifeguards, but it was just Adam. I was afraid that I'd forget something, but when I knelt down to [the victim], I remembered all of it."

Bradford noted that the lifeguards do over 35 hours of training, as well as an additional four hours of training per month. 

"I knew what I was supposed to do," she said. "Which was to make sure that everyone around me were doing their jobs...we train consistently for this. But I've been a lifeguard for 16 years, and this is my first time with this happening!"

Leave your congratulations to these heroes in the comments below!