FALL RIVER A 64-year-old who was found not breathing and without a pulse in Fall River's north end on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 24, had a pulse again before leaving the scene, after police officers, firefighters and paramedics worked on the patient together, Fall River EMS said in an account published Sunday by the Fall River Reporter.
The patient was rushed to a local hospital and taken straight to the cardiac catheterization lab under a STEMI alert, the signal hospitals use for a serious type of heart attack, EMS said. EMS did not name the patient.
Police got there first
Dispatchers sent Fall River EMS Medic 4, Medic 5 and Squad 12, along with Fall River Fire Engine 9 and Fall River police, to the address, EMS said. While the units were on the way, dispatchers confirmed the patient was in full cardiac arrest. The address was between where Medic 4 and Medic 5 were at the time, so both ambulances were sent to get the closest one there as fast as possible.
Police officers arrived first, EMS said. They started CPR at once, put their automated external defibrillator on the patient and shocked the patient twice.
Medic 4 was the first ambulance on scene and, with Squad 12, found the patient still in cardiac arrest. EMS crews took over CPR from police after Engine 9 arrived to help. Once the patient was connected to the heart monitor, the rhythm could still be shocked, and the patient was shocked again.
Crews kept up what EMS called high-quality CPR along with advanced life support: an intraosseous line, which delivers fluids and drugs through the bone, cardioversion and several medications. A pulse came back during that care. EMS credited the advanced life support work for the return of the pulse, and its report lists the call as a cardiac arrest with a return of spontaneous circulation.
The crews
EMS named the responders as Lt. Faria, a paramedic and the Squad 12 shift commander; Medic 4 paramedic Weston, EMT Bowman and a paramedic student; and Medic 5 paramedics Dennen and Capozzi, who assisted. Medic 5 cleared the scene and Medic 4 took the patient. Weston and the student transported the patient while Faria followed. EMS thanked Engine 9 and the Police Department for their help.
Medic 4 and Squad 12 are based at the Central Fire Station, 165 Bedford St., and Medic 5 at the Bernard Station, 120 Commerce Drive, according to the city. Fall River EMS has 76 people and answers about 31,000 emergency calls a year, the city says.
Learning CPR in Fall River
Fall River EMS runs CPR, first responder, EMT, ACLS and PALS classes every month, according to the city. To schedule one, call the EMS training captain at 508-324-2740, ext. 5127, or email EMSTrainingCapt@fallriverems.org.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Fall River EMS's account of the call comes from the Fall River Reporter's story posted at 5:44 p.m. Oct. 25, which we credit in the story. The station locations, staffing, call volume and CPR class details come from the city's EMS department page. We read both on Oct. 25. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: Fall River EMS, asked at 8:03 p.m. Oct. 25 for its own account and the patient's condition.
Corrections
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Sources (2)
- Fall River Reporter: Fall River EMS, Police, Fire combine to bring 64-year-old back to lifePosted 5:44 p.m. Oct. 25, 2026. Carries Fall River EMS's account of the call, the units, the care given, the hospital transport and the responders' names, with a photo courtesy of Fall River EMS. Read Oct. 25, 2026.
- City of Fall River: Emergency Medical Services (EMS)Department page: staffing, annual calls, unit stations and the monthly CPR and certification classes with the training contact. Read Oct. 25, 2026.