RFD firefighter saves life with quick action
Firefighters are usually putting their training to work at house fires, car accidents and other emergency and disaster situations. For one Russellville Fire Department firefighter and EMT, his knowledge and training were put to the test at a bass fishing tournament recently – and because of his quick instincts, he was able to save a father’s life.
Shane Mansell is the state tournament director for the Alabama Student Angler Bass Fishing Association. He was overseeing a tournament in Guntersville the weekend of March 11. “I’d just sat down on the edge of the stage to take a break,” Mansell recalled, when a woman came up and told him a man – Phil Powell – was having chest pains.
Mansell quickly transitioned from tournament director to trained EMT when he started talking with Powell. “I could tell he was having an active heart attack,” Mansell said. Although 9-1-1 had already been dialed, Mansell called again to request air evac. “We were a good way away from any medical facilities,” Mansell said.
And then, to put it bluntly, Mansell saw Powell die right before his eyes.
“You can’t die here. You can’t die here,” Mansell remembers thinking. “I had 500 plus kids there fishing and a thousand people watching” – including, although Mansell didn’t know it at the time, Powell’s 14-year-old son.
Mansell said although he was worked plenty of emergency scenes, this situation was totally different. Nevertheless, his training and background kicked in.
“It’s instinct,” he said. “I just jerked him out of the chair, laid him down and immediately started CPR. There was no thinking involved. You just react.”
A doctor, a parent of another young fisherman, came over and assisted as Mansell performed chest compressions, and a park ranger retrieved an AED.
By time air evac arrived, Powell was sitting up talking.
Mansell visited Powell at the hospital afterward. “I wanted to make sure he was doing OK,” Mansell said. Powell’s family was there, and they were quick to express their heartfelt gratitude for the man who saved their father’s and husband’s life.
“It was a humbling experience when you walk through the doors into the hospital room and the man you just did CPR on is sitting there talking to you,” Mansell said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Of course, “right place, right time” is often quoted by those others know are true heroes. And from RFD Chief Joe Mansell’s perspective, “right place, right time” goes a little deeper. Shane Mansell was supposed to have been on duty with the RFD that weekend, but the shift captain was able to move schedules around so he could be at the fishing tournament. “God placed Shane there for a reason,” the chief said. He expressed his pride in Mansell, who has been with the department for 17 years. “You go through all this schooling, and that shows you – he was prepared and knew what to do. He jumped into action and did what he was trained to do … You don’t have to be on duty to use your training.
“I’m proud of him. That’s Shane – he’s a helper. He wants to help people.”
The experience was an eye-opener for Shane Mansell, who said he is now in the process of working on funding to have an AED on hand for future tournaments.
And as for Powell, Mansell said they have chatted since then, and he is doing well. “He’s excited to be at the next tournament.”
Despite his life-saving moment, Mansell remains a humble hero. “I don’t think I really did anything out of the ordinary. I just reacted and did what I know to do.”
