Cornwall man saved by defibrillator at rink

A Cornwall, P.E.I. man may owe his life to a never before used defibrillator at the town rink.

Gordon Crozier was at the APM Centre on Sunday night to watch his grandson play when he collapsed from a heart attack. He was unconscious and wasn't breathing when two men began CPR.

Meanwhile, a nurse and firefighter grabbed the defibrillator from the lobby of the arena and used it to revive Crozier. One of those who sprang to help Crozier was cameraman Steve Stepleton of CBC Charlottetown.

'"We gave Gordon one jolt and he came around," Stapleton said. "Then we kept administering the CPR, monitoring his breathing and watching for a pulse, and we just did that, with help from the others, until the EMS arrived and took him to hospital."

The defibrillator had been a fixture at the rink for the past two years, but this was the first time it was used.

"I don't know if the ambulance could have got here fast enough for the person to survive, but the defibrillator did its job," Donna Butler, APM Centre manager, said Monday.

The kits are now found in about one-half of all rinks on P.E.I. They're also showing up in shopping malls, fitness centres and office buildings, and they are designed to be used by anyone with or without training.

An automated voice in the kits tells users what to do — and corrects any mistakes they make.

"For every one minute that there's a delay in defibrillation, a person's chances of survival can decrease seven to 10 per cent," said Rosalie Simeone of Safety First Training Services.

The province has no regulations requiring automated defibrillators in public buildings, but it does provide grants to local arenas and community centres to cover half the cost of the life-saving equipment.