The Longview City Council Thursday honored two off-duty firefighters and two citizens who saved the life of a Longview man after he had a heart attack while fishing.
Later in the meeting, the council then voted to accept a grant that will help pay for three additional firefighters.
Chris Wills, who is married to Longview Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Wills, was fishing on the Columbia River in the early morning on Aug. 31 when he went into cardiac arrest, Interim Fire Chief Jim Kambeitz told the council Thursday night.
His friend Trevor Brunelle, who was in the boat with him, recognized the signs and immediately started CPR, which he had learned only three weeks earlier, Kambeitz said.
Off-duty firefighters Justin Noel and Jim Trussell, and their friend Ryan Fugleburg, were fishing nearby during the Longview Union Firefighter annual salmon derby, Kambeitz said. They boarded the boat and took over CPR while Brunelle drove the boat to shore.