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Two local firefighters helped resuscitate a fan who suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed prior to Sunday’s Patriots-Dolphins game at Gillette Stadium.
Mark McCullough of the Needham Fire Department and Anthony Colella of the Johnston (R.I.) Fire Department saw police running down the stairs to the G-P Atrium section underneath the lighthouse at Gillette Stadium. They followed suit and jumped into action to help the fan.
Colella checked the man’s airway to confirm he wasn’t breathing and then checked his pulse before starting CPR on the man — whom they estimate was in his 50s — which continued for about a minute.
“It’s one of those things where it’s not just me, it’s everybody else,” McCullough told Boston.com. “That’s what we do for a living. Even if we’re not working, we’re still out there doing what we have to do.”
My parents are at the Patriots game with their friends and someone in their section just had a heart attack and my dad's friend (also a firefighter) started giving him CPR and saved his life.
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) September 18, 2023
Forget the football. This is the best thing I've heard all day ❤️ wow
The man, who was with his son and brother-in-law, regained consciousness and started vomiting. They thought he was choking, but he wasn’t. He had, however, fallen and hit the back of his head and was bleeding. Colella and McCullough waited with him until emergency services arrived.
These are the two heroes from tonight who gave CPR to a fan who went into cardiac arrest at the @Patriots game ❤️ Anthony Colella of Johnston RI Fire and Mark McCullough of Needham Fire pic.twitter.com/qKJ38AKqGw
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) September 18, 2023
The man’s condition is unknown.
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