NAHANT — Fire Chief Michael Feinberg revived a man in cardiac arrest while skiing with his wife and two of his children earlier this week.
Feinberg was vacationing in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire when a skier in line for the lift collapsed from cardiac arrest. Feinberg put his training to use to help save the man’s life.
“The gentleman in front of me had moved forward to get on the lift and collapsed,” said Feinberg. “I immediately went over to him and he had no pulse so I started CPR.”
Off-duty nurses, who were also skiing, assisted Feinberg in reviving the man. He used an automatic defibrillator and resumed CPR until his condition approved. Meanwhile, Feinberg’s 13-year-old children watched as he stepped into action.
“We assessed him and about a minute later, he had a pulse again,” said Feinberg. “By the time the ambulance arrived, he was awake and talking to us.”
The 43-year-old man was airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he is continuing to recover.
“CRP is what saves lives,” said Feinberg, who has been the fire chief in Nahant for two years. “For every minute that goes by without CPR being administered, it decreases the chance of survival by 10 percent. I certainly hope that he is doing well. It just shows that we are never really off duty. I did nothing different than what any other firefighter, paramedic, or EMT would have done.”
