Client: Awards
Date: August 10, 2012

BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) honoured the life-saving efforts of two men who performed CPR on a fellow employee experiencing cardiac arrest at Rockwater Energy Solutions, Inc., Dawson Creek.

Steve Walton passed out in his office on March 13, 2012 and didn’t remember anything. “It was lights out for me,” he said. “The guys in the lunch room saw me through my office window and saved me.”

BCAS Unit Chief Sarah Shaw said, “The alert actions of bystanders are often the most critical in a cardiac arrest emergency. If a patient receives CPR while our paramedics are en route, those few minutes can be life-saving.”

“It sounds kind of silly to give me an award for something paramedics do every day,” said award recipient Earl Swaffield downplaying his role in the incident.

Morris Moore who assisted Earl with the CPR said he talks to Steve everyday now at work, saying jokingly, “you can’t die on us.”

Both Rockwater Energy employees learned CPR from BCAS employee Lillian Ash who teaches first aid and CPR in her spare time. Lillian attended the award ceremony to congratulate Earl and Morris for playing a vital role in Steve’s survival and recovery.

“I’m really grateful for everything they’ve done,” said Steve who suffered no long term damage from his heart stopping. “We have a great program here for health and safety.”

The manager of Rockwater Energy in Dawson Creek, Gene Cooper also attended the BCAS Vital Link Award ceremony and made a presentation to Earl and Morris on behalf of the Houston-based company.

BCAS attends between 2,400-2,800 cardiac arrest calls each year. Approximately 115 occur in northern B.C. Only 12 per cent of British Columbians who suffer a cardiac arrest survive.