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A friend of about 20 years who was working out in the weight room had collapsed and appeared to be in cardiac arrest.
“She said, ‘Evan, they need a doctor!’” the Fairfield resident recalled Wednesday. “I was just in my suit and flip-flops.”
But he ran to the weight room and started chest compressions, while a staffer brought an automated external defibrillator (AED) to Tilley and Sam Mouziyk, the Y’s aquatic coordinator, who also sprang into action.
They administered a shock, and the man began breathing again. Soon the town’s emergency personnel were on the scene, transporting the man to St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where he received the medical attention he needed.
“He’s alive and well because of you,” said Fairfield Fire Chief Denis McCarthy, who commended Tilley and Mouziyk for their actions at Wednesday’s Board of Selectman meeting.
The selectmen took time out to proclaim March 2 as Dr. Evan Tilley Dan and Sam Mouziyk Day to commemorate the incident.
They also commended Firefighter Jerry McGuire, who spearheaded the town’s efforts to become an official HEARTSafe Community through a program run by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
The program began in 2006 to foster community environments that improve the survival odds for people suffering sudden cardiac events, such as cardiac arrests or heart attacks, according to Michele Connelly, HEARTSafe coordinator for the DPH Office of Emergency Services.
HEARTSafe communities support the “chain of survival” by offering CPR training in the community and making sure there are functioning AEDs throughout public offices and private businesses, including fitness centers and schools.
Connelly presented First Selectman Michael Tetreau with one of 10 plaques the town received to place on Fairfield roadways to let residents know they have earned the designation.
Fairfield is one of 117 communities in Connecticut to earn the distinction.
Though he is an experienced lifeguard, Mouziyk said he was surprised that he wasn’t nervous while he and Tilley worked on the victim, who said he was grateful but wishes to remain anonymous.
“I was surprised by myself,” the Bridgeport man said. “But when I got back in my office, I started to cry.”
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