South County Fire honors off-duty firefighter, cardiologist, others for saving a pickleball player’s life at Edmonds gym

They were in the right place at the right time. On Monday, South County Fire honored an off-duty firefighter and several other community members who leapt into action to save the life of a pickleball player at an Edmonds gym.

Fellow pickleball players at Edmonds Harbor Square Athletic Club noticed the man slump over and his face turn blue on Sept. 5. The man had no pulse and was not breathing, according to Tobey Stevenson, an off-duty Bellingham Fire captain who was exercising at the time. 

Stevenson and another gym member, a cardiologist, performed CPR on the man. Other bystanders called 911 and retrieved an automated external defibrillator (AED) at the gym, which Stevenson and the cardiologist used to shock the man’s heart back into rhythm. 

“I saw his eyes flicker and he started breathing. It was an amazing feeling,” Stevenson said. When South County firefighters arrived, the man was awake and talking. Firefighters rushed him to a hospital, and he was released days later.

Monday, South County Fire presented a Community Lifesaver Coin to the following community members for their actions:

Tobey Stevenson

Dr. Neil Siecke (not pictured)

Patty Hencz

David Varnau

Hannah Murphy

Greg Boland

In a cardiac arrest, bystander CPR during the critical minutes before firefighters arrive can double or triple a patient’s chance of survival. South County Fire offers a free ACT course to learn life-saving skills including CPR, how to use an AED, apply a tourniquet and more. ACT is a new approach to first aid that removes barriers and makes learning simple. About 35,000 people have already been trained to ACT.

Take the one-hour ACT course online or request an in-person class for your group at southsnofire.org/ACT.