Yokota firefighters save a life

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Desiree Economides
  • 374th Airlift Wing public affairs
FUSSA, Japan --  Three firefighters from Yokota Air Base, Japan, performed life-saving CPR on a woman at the Fussa International Festival Sept. 1.

Senior Airmen Thomas Kirts and Jonathan Douglas, assigned to the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department, were attending the festivities with fellow 374 CES firefighter Kazuhisa Iizuka when they saw the woman collapse.

Iizuka completed an initial assessment of her condition and determined she was suffering from heat exhaustion. The three moved her to a shaded location, applying water bottles under her arms to cool her down while they notified emergency personnel. Soon after, she became unresponsive and stopped breathing so they initiated team CPR until paramedics arrived; Kirts held her airway open, Douglas performed compressions and Iizuka delivered breaths.

"We are trained to do this as part of our job," said Kirts. "I feel when something unfortunate like this happens you should help out as much as you can no matter who it is."

Japanese paramedics arrived and transported the victim to a local hospital. Kirts and Douglas later found out the woman was in stable condition and would survive.

"It makes you feel good knowing that you were there to help someone in need," said Douglas. "In this situation it boiled down to being in the right place at the right time."