Peachtree City honors firefighters, volunteers for two out-of-hospital cardiac saves

Peachtree City on Tuesday honored firefighters, police and civilian rescuers who helped save two residents after sudden cardiac arrests earlier this year.

Fire Chief Clint Murphy told the council the city experienced two rare but successful out-of-hospital resuscitations in the last six months. He described the first incident on Jan. 28, when Jeremiah Bishop suffered chest pain and collapsed. Crews, including Lieutenant James Chester and emergency medical technicians Jay Todd, John Neville and Christopher Swayze, used an automated external defibrillator, a Lucas mechanical compression device and advanced life–saving medications to restore Bishop’s heartbeat and transport him to a hospital cath lab, where physicians treated multiple blocked coronary vessels. Chief Murphy said Bishop spent weeks on life support and months in rehabilitation and is now back home.

The second event, on April 4, involved Jonathan Johnson collapsing while on a run. Citizen bystanders (named by the chief as Josh Shelton, Matt Tough and Rob Thomas) began CPR and called 911. Officers and medics including Brad Chambers, Keith Isaac and the fire department’s paramedics used an AED and continued advanced care that restored Johnson’s circulation; staff transported him for further treatment and he has since returned home, the chief said.

"This is the chain of survival," Chief Murphy said, thanking both trained first responders and private citizens for intervening at critical moments. Several council members and the mayor praised the crews and invited the honorees and their families to a reception.

The council recessed the formal recognition by presenting awards and allowing crews a private reception to speak with one another. No formal council action was required for the honors, which city staff organized and funded as part of the awards program.