Wildwood Firefighters Save Man’s Life at Rio Grande Wawa

There's an 80-year-old man who's alive thanks to some local heroes being in the right place at the right time.

That right place was the Rio Grande Wawa.

Officials from the City of Wildwood Fire Department say a crew was completing a fire inspection Thursday at the Wawa in Rio Grande when they helped save a man's life.

Here are the details from the department's Facebook page:

"Crew members overheard a patron asking the cashier to call 9-1-1 because there was someone passed out in the bathroom.
Firefighters Gerry Vessels and Sean Stanton immediately went to the bathroom finding the subject in a locked bathroom stall. Firefighter Vessels radioed for the ambulance, which was out front of the store, of his findings and to bring in medical equipment. Firefighter Vessels then climbed over the stall wall to gain access, unlocked the door and pulled the 80 year-old patient out. A quick evaluation determined the patient was in cardiac arrest. CPR was initiated by Vessels and Stanton. Firefighters Rich Harron and Brendan Phillips arrived and applied an AED. A total of two shocks were delivered restoring the patient’s pulses who then also began to breathe on his own."

Without the firefighter being on the scene and proactive, the man's outcome would not have been fortunate.

"Prior to transporting the patient was conscious and orientated speaking to those who just saved his life. The patient was transported to Atlantic City Medical Center – Mainland Campus by Wildwood City Fire Department Ambulance."