Veteran Firefighter makes Remarkable recovery

Jeff Green | Jan 06, 2011

File photo: Keith Hawley.

The old saying “as ye sow, so shall ye reap” is often used to talk about payback for bad deeds, but in the case of Keith Hawley, the seeds he has been sowing for 60 years ended up saving his life.

On December 10, during the short walk from the Masonic hall in Sharbot Lake back to his home, Hawley suffered a heart attack and dropped to the ground at the corner of Elisabeth and Mathew streets. A driver who was bringing her children home from a high school dance found him there, and called 911.

The first on the scene was Glen Moase, a firefighter with Central Frontenac Fire & Rescue who lives at the other end of Elizabeth Street. He began doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on Hawley, who did not appear to have a pulse. “We train for medical emergencies constantly, so when I arrived the training kicked in immediately, and I just reacted,” Moase recalled later.

Mark Taylor and Duncan McGregor arrived soon after, with the department's rescue van. As part of their emergency first response, a defibrillator was used as well.

The Frontenac Paramedic Service arrived next, and the two paramedics on duty happened to be Ryan Conboy and Mark Powell, who are both volunteer firefighters with the Central Frontenac department when they are not on duty as paramedics. They quickly got Keith Hawley into the ambulance, and left for the Perth hospital, with two of the firefighters, Mark Taylor and Devon Conboy, riding in the ambulance as well to provide assistance.

“As the ambulance was leaving they said that he had a pulse, which I was able to relay to Keith's wife Irene as she was getting ready to follow to the hospital in an OPP car,” said Glen Moase.

The ride to Perth was not without incident, as Hawley required further interventions along the way.

“It was a great example of the fire and ambulance services working together to try and save a life. The firefighters did everything they could and we took it from there. We all train together for these kinds of events, and to have that all come together for someone like Keith makes it even more gratifying,” said Mark Powell.

The good news is that Keith Hawley survived his ordeal, and after a difficult time in hospital and an operation, he began to recover. He returned to his home on Christmas Day, just a couple of weeks after his collapse. When contacted by the News this week, he said he was still feeling weak, but is feeling stronger as time goes on.

He recalled that the fire department has been involved with medical rescues for many years, although the equipment has improved over time. “I remember taking the first course with a machine called a resuscitator back in the '50s with Bob England. It did a pretty good job at the time, but not what the machines can do now,” he said.

There are few, if any, other 60-year veteran volunteer firefighters in Ontario. Even though Hawley downplays his current role with the department, saying, “I'm only the secretary now,” his colleagues in the department are particularly proud of this particular medical assist call.

And after responding to calls for most of his adult life, it's the first time the department has been called in to assist him.

In Hawley's case, it was first time lucky.