Firefighters save tourist’s life on Hvar island
- by croatiaweek
- in News
Stari Grad, Hvar
A heartwarming story from the island of Hvar was shared yesterday on the Facebook page Vatrogasci – 193 (Firefighters – 193).
A witness recounted how firefighters saved a tourist’s life in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
“Hello, I have a huge commendation for two firefighters who saved a man’s life on 3 September 2024. That day, at around 3:30 pm, a tourist at a restaurant on Ploča Square suddenly felt unwell and suffered a heart attack.
His friends began to panic and called out for help. Within 10 seconds, a young man, who was sitting in a nearby café, rushed over and asked if they had called an ambulance, but the owner was already on the phone with them,” the post began.
A young firefighter quickly ran to assist, calling for backup.
“The young man was wearing a firefighter’s shirt, so I assume he was one of them. He immediately called his colleagues because, although the ambulance arrived very quickly, waiting for them could have been fatal.
About a minute after his call, a fire brigade jeep arrived with a portable defibrillator, and firefighter immediately began resuscitation, which ultimately saved the tourist’s life,” the post continued.
The firefighters’ swift intervention saved the tourist’s life.
They managed to restore the man’s pulse before the paramedics arrived.
“His younger colleague ran over with oxygen, and they managed to bring back his pulse before the ambulance arrived. Later, we learned that the man was ‘quite blue’ and without a pulse, clinically dead, and it was mostly thanks to the firefighter from Stari Grad that he survived.
The injured man was airlifted to Split for further treatment and recovery. Huge praise goes to the firefighter who acted swiftly and saved the man’s life before the ambulance arrived, and to his younger colleague for his quick thinking and resourcefulness.
Without the two of them, these tourists would sadly have remembered their holiday in a foreign country for the tragic death of their friend or family member,” the post concluded.
