St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Deputy, Happy to be Alive

April 11, 2017
St. Mary's County Sheriff's Deputy, David Corcoran

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Deputy, David Corcoran

Firefighters and EMS associates work very hard when on the job. One rescuer found himself rescuing someone while off-duty at a charity hockey game last week.

Players found David Corcoran unresponsive on the ice the game between Capitol Police and West Caldwell Fire. Members from D.C. Fire Department’s hockey team who were watching the game responded to the ice surface to assist with the patient.

Responders found Corcoran pulseless. Members from D.C. Fire’s hockey team immediately began CPR as staff from The Garden’s Ice House quickly retrieved the facility’s AED. One of the dual firefighter/EMS assistants said it felt like another day at work.

“It was just automatic,” said Jordan Wiley, a firefighter and EMS associate for D.C. Fire and EMS regarding the rescue of Corcoran.

Wiley worked behind the scenes of the game at the check-in desk.

“I just heard a lot of commotion,” Wiley said. “I looked up from the desk and saw him down on the ice.

“I went into ‘work mode’ when we got together to save him,” Wiley said.

Corcoran, the heart attack victim, is glad to be alive, but insists this story is not about him.

“I give the credit to the lifesaving efforts of the firefighters, doctors, nurses, and all else who assisted with the situation,” Corcoran said.

Corcoran said he was discharged April 10 from Washington Adventist Hospital.

He was surprised the feelings he was feeling were leading up to a heart attack due to his constant movement as goalie and trying to help his team.

“It felt really like my lungs were burning, as if I had just started running again after not running for a while,” he said. “I did not know I was having a heart attack.”

The Facebook page for D.C. Fire and EMS said an AED shock was advised and delivered. CPR continued until another shock was advised approximately two minutes later. The second shock was delivered. CPR resumed until reassessment, which found the patient to have strong pulses and spontaneous breathing. This was according to the D.C. Fire and EMS statement.

Wiley said it was not a large amount of elapsed time between the second shock and Corcoran’s return to consciousness.

“He talked with us after a few minutes,” Wiley said.

Units from PG Fire and EMS arrived to further treat and transport the patient to Washington Adventist Hospital.

According to the statement, doctors found he had 100% occlusion [blockage] of his left anterior descending artery. Corcoran had a stent placed into him, according to the statement.

By Zach Filtz, for Southern Maryland News Net