Fairfield firefighters help Neil Champagne, 45, of Fairfield, out of a tree in which he experienced cardiac arrest while hunting Saturday. (Photo courtesy Fairfield Fire Department)RICHARD WEIZEL rweizel@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 12/24/2007 12:24:21 AM EST
Fairfield firefighters help Neil Champagne, 45, of Fairfield, out of a tree in which he experienced cardiac arrest while hunting Saturday. (Photo courtesy Fairfield Fire Department)
FAIRFIELD — It sounds more like a medical rescue scene you are likely to see on the television show "ER."
But this was real life. And it was a matter of life and death.
Sitting 20 feet high in a tree, deep in the woods late Saturday afternoon, a 45-year-old bowhunter had just downed his first deer of the day.
But the hunter's joy was short-lived: The Fairfield man's life was nearly cut short after he experienced sudden chest pains that quickly led to cardiac arrest.
Before losing consciousness, however, Neil Champagne used his cell phone to call for help.
Fairfield firefighters, emergency medical workers and police rushed to the scene, at the property of Richard Dunn, 270 Farmstead Hill Road, arriving just as Champagne's cell phone died.
But he was still alive, and the race was on to find him in the heavily wooded, snowy hills to avert the increasing likelihood of a tragedy.
Moments later, firefighters and EMTs were able to locate Champagne after he dropped his bow at the base of the tree as a landmark.
He soon lost consciousness and was in full cardiac arrest, said Assistant Fire Chief George Gomola.
The hunter nearly fell out of the tree several times during the rescue, but the efforts of several firefighters to secure him to a rope ladder apparatus probably saved his life, Gomola said.
"We had to hook a ladder up against the tree and secure him into a special Stokes basket and then take great care to lower him down as quickly as possible, but without harming him or our workers," Gomola said.
"He is a big man, and it was as incredible a rescue as I've seen during 27 years as a firefighter," Gomola said. "But everyone stayed focused and the man had a harness on, so we were able to get him down in time for emergency medical personnel to do their job."
Dunn, a co-owner of the three-acre property, said he thought Champagne was dead.
"It looked very grim, but the firefighters and paramedics performed a Christmas miracle, working for 45 minutes to get make sure his heart was going again," Dunn said. "He's such a nice guy, that's why we let him hunt on our property."
EMTs and paramedics had to perform immediate cardiac pulmonary resuscitation at the scene and on the rough ride through the woods to a waiting ambulance, Gomola said.
He said the race continued, this time to get to St. Vincent's Medical Center to save the hunter's life. On the way there, a defibrillator was used several times to jump start Champagne's stopped heart, Gomola said.
The stricken hunter arrived at St. Vincent's shortly after he called for help at 3:38 p.m., and emergency surgery was performed to save his life, Gomola said.
Gomola said the Champagnes are not ready to talk to the media, but they "are very grateful for the efforts of all the rescue workers. The prognosis is very good and he hopes to be released from the hospital by Friday."
Gomola, who commanded the rescue effort, said everyone involved called the rescue was a miracle.
"It was the most amazing rescue I have ever seen," Gomola said. "When we heard later that he survived, it was a wonderful Christmas present.
"It was one of those situations where all the factors necessary for this guy to survive were in place at just the right time, and all the people were at the scene at the right time," Gomola said. "He had the wherewithal to stay in the tree and not try to get down. If he had panicked and tried to climb down, it would have likely been a very different outcome."
Gomola credited all 15 firefighters, police, EMS workers and dispatchers with taking part in the rescue.
After the call came in, Lynne Erazmus, a telecommunicator at the Fairfield Emergency Communication Center, immediately dispatched emergency responders from the Fire Department, Police Department, and AMR ambulance, according to a statement released by the Fairfield Fire Department.
The statement also said Arazmus stayed on the line with the victim, "providing calming re-assurance and guiding rescuers to his location" even though the cell signal was lost as firefighters approached the exact site.
Firefighter Bill Tuttle, also a bowhunter familiar with tree stands, used a second tree stand on scene to gain access to the patient and provide him with immediate medical care.
Richard Weizel can be reached at 330-6470.