SWFL firefighters honored for saving teammate’s life

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CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Three off-duty firefighters were honored Tuesday night after making the play of the season when one of their teammates went into cardiac arrest.

Santi Cacciola was playing in the championship game several weeks ago and was walking to the dugout when he suddenly became dizzy.

The last thing the 77-year-old remembers was telling a teammate to get help before he collapsed.

That’s when Dave Porter, Bryan Lynch and Jorge Diaz sprung into action.

“We heard one of the guys from the other field holler at me and I could tell by the sound of his voice it wasn’t just a routine injury, something was seriously wrong,” said Porter, an Iona McGregor firefighter.

The off-duty firefighters started CPR and revived Cacciola after one strike of the defibrillator.

Cacciola went from having no pulse to speaking with paramedics in a matter of minutes.

He said he owed his life to the firefighters and his wife, who demanded the batteries be replaced in defibrillator two days before his heart attack.

The firefighters received plaques for their heroism.

 

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