Mayor, mayoress and air cadets honoured for saving man at Wakefield Remembrance service
The man was resuscitated thanks to the efforts of the mayor and mayoress and Featherstone, as well as local air cadets
Air cadets and a town’s mayor and mayoress have been honoured for their life-saving bravery after a man suffered a heart attack at a Remembrance Day service.
Rudy Foo’s life was resuscitated when he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest during the incident at Wakefield Cathedral last November.
The Mayor and Mayoress of Featherstone, Dwain Longley and Tracey Austin, and Commanding Officer Flight Lieutenant Luke Harvey, of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, have been presented with Royal Humane Society award to mark their efforts.
Dwain and Tracey, both paramedics, ran to the man’s aid and performed resuscitation techniques until an ambulance arrived.
Luke and a number of air cadets also formed a human barrier around the Mr Foo while he received treatment.
The Mayor of Wakefield, Darren Byford, said he hoped the incident would help raise awareness of the importance of learning life-saving skills such as performing CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
He awarded Dwain, Tracey and Luke with the Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate at a civic reception at Wakefield Town Hall.
The cadets also received a ‘Mayor Says Thanks’ certificate.
He said: “First of all, I am pleased to say the gentleman has made a full recovery and that is in no doubt thanks to the quick actions of Dwain, Tracey and Luke.
“Knowing how to perform resuscitation techniques is an incredibly important skill and it really can save someone’s life while waiting for an ambulance.
“A huge thank you to everyone who helped that day. I am pleased that we have been able to award them for their bravery.”
Dwain, an area operations manager at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “I happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to use my CPR skills to treat the patient suffering a serious medical emergency in Wakefield Cathedral.
“A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of any age at any time, and action taken in the first few minutes of this occurring can make a huge difference to someone’s chances of survival.
“I’m delighted that the patient has made a full recovery.”
Luke said: “First aid is one of the fundamental skills we teach cadets, and we always tell them of its importance and that they will never know when they may need to use it.
“The incident at the cathedral proved that to be very true.
“I am so incredibly proud of how the cadets acted on the night to help maintain the privacy and dignity of the gentleman whilst life-saving intervention was provided to him.
“They were a credit to themselves, the squadron and the organisation.”