AFD Chief recognizes those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anchorage Fire Department Chief Doug Schrage recognized firefighters who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in service to their community.

In a commendation ceremony on Monday, Schrage called attention to four firefighters who answered an emergency call while not officially on duty.

“These off-duty firefighters showed up, took action, applied their knowledge, their skills and their expertise to perform life-saving care until emergency medical services could arrive,” Schrage said.

“And in each case, in each of the situations being highlighted here, the patients had a full recovery and walked out of the hospital,” he added. “And that’s what we’re celebrating. And because of these men here, there are at least four people that are walking around, contributing members of our community.”

The fire chief’s commendation awards were presented to:

• Chugiak Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Fisher
• Girdwood Fire Department Deputy Chief Manch Garhart
• Anchorage Fire Department Engineer Gregory Walhman
• Chugiak Fire Department Lieutenant Carter Fowler

According to AFD, all award recipients received PulsePoint Respond notifications. The firefighters were able to respond and perform life-saving measures before on-duty first responders arrived at the scene.

PulsePoint Respond is a free app that anyone can download, and it enables people to be notified of cardiac arrests in their vicinity. The app improves survivability from cardiac arrest by connecting people who can perform CPR to a patient while waiting for emergency services.

”I have the app on my phone set up where it’s a pretty obnoxious tone, so when it goes off, I can recognize it,” Scott Fisher told Alaska’s News Source. “I looked at the map and the notification and it was basically right across the street ... I got my vehicle and went across the street, and they were doing a bystander CPR. The lady had collapsed inside the grocery store while shopping, and I had an AED with me. I hooked her up and shocked her and then took over compressions before Station 11 crews got there.”

Fisher said he was at the “right place at the right time,” and said that the PulsePoint Respond app has made these life-saving measures possible, whereas 10 years ago, the technology didn’t exist.

Fowler had a similar experience, the app notified him that someone nearby was experiencing an emergency.

“From the time that I got to the residence and started CPR, it was about five to seven minutes from when Station 11 showed up,” Fowler said. “So that amount of time from where I was able to arrive and take over CPR from the son-in-law — who was already doing very good CPR himself — it definitely helped the gentleman for sure, in his survivability.”

Each firefighter said they appreciated the commendation, but saving a life was the real reward. Chief Schrage said he was proud of his fellow firefighters and wants the public to know it could have been anyone who had answered the call for help.

“You don’t have to be an off-duty firefighter to receive a cardiac arrest alert on your pulse point app in your phone,” Chief Schrage said. “Pulse Point is a free app that anybody can download that shows you all the calls that the fire department is responding to.”

“But most importantly, it will notify you if someone in your vicinity needs CPR,” he added.

Schrage said that improving the survivability from cardiac arrest is early CPR and defibrillation. It’s an action that could mean the difference between life and death while waiting for emergency services.

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