San Jose Firefighters Reunite With Teen They Saved

An unusual reunion Thursday brought together a teenage boy and the East San Jose firefighters who saved him from cardiac arrest two weeks earlier.

San Jose's Omar Vasquez, 17, and about 20 family members visited Fire Station 2 in Alum Rock to thank the eight paramedics who used a defibrillator to shock his body and get him breathing again on Feb. 16.

Vasquez had collapsed while running track after school at James Lick High. With the fire station just 50 yards away, the firefighters inside heard cries for help, ran past several dozen bystanders and restored his breathing about two minutes after his heart stopped beating.

An ambulance response would have taken so long that Vasquez almost surely would have suffered brain damage -- and perhaps not survived -- but because the fire station was located within shouting distance, he wound up fine, firefighters said.

Firefighters said it was really unusual to actually meet one of the thousands of people they help, most of which are taken to the hospital and never heard from again. Firefighters Eric Lyle, Capt. Ed Dziuba, Jason Leach, Rich Anderson, Jeff Silva, Julian Molloy, Capt. Adam Cheney and Rob Cone all helped save Vasquez.

"It brings a lot of closure to the patient, and the family -- and to the firefighters," Capt. Mary Gutierrez said. "So this is very emotional for everyone here today."

Copyright 2012 - San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service