Not too long ago, Fire Lt. Henrik Dunlaevy and emergency medical services personnel came to the rescue of a young man who went into cardiac arrest.
They performed CPR and the young man regained consciousness. On the ride to the hospital, he was talking.
"Blew my mind away," Dunlaevy said. In 20 years of rescue work, he had never seen a person regain consciousness and talk so quickly after a cardiac arrest.
Dunlaevy believes a new EMS protocol that will be implemented statewide on March 1 is a big part of the man's quick recovery.
Dunlaevy spoke at a Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs press conference held last week to inform the public about the new protocol: 30-minute on-site CPR.
"The point of this protocol is to minimize the interruptions in CPR, in order to promote better patient outcomes," said Dr. Joseph Lauro.