Charleroi fire captain credited for saving man’s life

By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com

Charleroi firefighters saved a man’s life Wednesday morning in the middle of Crest Avenue.
During a Charleroi Borough Council meeting Wednesday, fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. said Capt. Matt Prentice, an emergency medical technician, responded to the call around 10:30 a.m. and was on the scene within two minutes.
“There was a man in his 30s having a medical emergency, he was in cardiac arrest,” Whiten said. “When we got on scene, we pulled up and the police were there and a woman was trying to administer CPR to him in his vehicle.”
Charleroi Regional Police officers and firefighters took the man from his pick-up truck to the street, where Prentice took the lead and began to administer life-saving measures with the help of fellow firefighters Steve Anderson and Rebecca Johnston.
“It takes more than one person to make it work,” Prentice said. “When you have three or four people on the scene who know what is going on, that’s when you get the job done. We got him out of his truck and began to revive him in the middle of Crest Avenue, started CPR and rescue breaths, administered medication to help revive him and we had him sitting up and talking by the time the ambulance arrived.”
Prentice works full-time as the fire department’s paid driver, responding to calls and checking equipment daily to make sure the firefighters are ready to respond when the alarm sounds.
His contract was unanimously renewed for a third year by council Wednesday night.
“If it was not for Matt, we might have lost someone out on a borough street today,” Whiten said. “That is why I am so thankful that council saw the importance of this position and extended the contract for another year. I know there has been some debate about the position and the budget, but council making sure that this position stays allowed us to save a life today.”
Prentice is also thankful to council for recognizing the importance of his job for the borough.
“We say every second counts and it does,” Prentice said. “When we got the call we were out of the door within two minutes and that might not have been the case if we didn’t have the paid driver position, but not everyone sees it that way. Today, this was a medical emergency, and there are times when the ambulance service is too busy and there might a delay. This could have easily been a fire and someone hanging out of the window for a rescue, but it shows that seconds and minutes make a difference.”
The rescued, who was not identified, was alert and speaking with first responders when firefighters cleared the scene. It is unclear if he was taken to the hospital to receive further treatment.
Firefighters were assisted on scene by Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services and Charleroi Regional Police.