STM employee saves man's life thanks to defibrillators installed at every Metro station

On the afternoon of May 25, James Charles had just returned from a lunch break when his attention was caught by calls of someone in distress.

"Some person came outside running and telling me, 'do you guys have a defibrillator?'" said Charles, who works as an operations chief at the Socit de transport de Montral (STM).

"Iknew there was something wrong, so Iran to the office inside."

Charles was confident that there was indeed a defibrillator on the premises at Cte-VertuMetro station, because it had been installed a few weeks earlier and he had watched a video about its use.

The STMsaysthe defibrillators arealways located near the station agent's booth, to help locate them in an emergency situation.

Grabbing the defibrillator from its spot, Charles rushed back out onto the sidewalk in front of the station where he saw a man in his 70s lying on the ground. A passerby was performing CPR on him.

Charles confirmed the man had no pulse and prepared the defibrillator.

"I was just there doing the right thing at the right time becauseI was prepared," he said. "Ijust pressed the button and that was the magic of it."

Paramedics arrived on the scene several minutes later and told Charles the man was going to pull through.

"They were very happy that we gave CPRand we gave the shocks," he said.

'I just did my job'

Charles said he hadn't received specific training from the STM about how to use the device, but he had at a previous job working for an airline.

He saysthat "everybody that works for the public should be trained" to use a defibrillator because it can mean the difference between life and death.

"What's important is to be prepared and to know how and that can save lives," he said.

WATCH | James Charles describes the incident on May 25:

STM employee describes using defibrillator to revive man outside Cte-Vertu Metro station

3 years ago

Duration 1:47

James Charles knew there was a lifesaving device in the station because it had just been installed a few weeks earlier.

Charles added that because he'd been trained before, he didn't panic when the situation came for him to revive someone.

"Ididn'tthink, I just knew what I had to do and I did it," he said. "I'm happytoday that I'm in the spotlight, but aside from that, I just did my job."

He feels that based on the early success of the transit corporation adding defibrillators to every Metro station, they should be put in schools and other public places as well.

"It should be like basic knowledge to have everybody know how to use that, because it can save lives at the end of the day."

The STM began the deployment of76 automated external defibrillators in Metro stations in March and finished May 26, one day after the incident atCte-Vertu station.

The devices are also installed invehicles used by STM incident commanders and security and control officers.

In total, the STM acquired 209 devices for just over $300,000 and will place the rest of them inseveral STM workplaces, such as workshops, bus garages and offices.

Salim Grim, a first aid and CPR instructor, told CBC that when it comes to sudden health issues, time is of the essence.

"When someone is having a big emergencylike a stroke or a heart attack or cardiac arrest,the first minutes count," he said. "If no one is calling 911, starting chest compressions or using anautomated external defibrillator, there is no miracle after that."

Grim said he applauds the STM for making these devices available in every Metro station, because having defibrillators in public spaces can make a significant difference for people asthey waitfor paramedics to arrive.

"For eachminute we lose not doing chest compressions or not using theautomated external defibrillator, we are removing sevento 10 chances of reviving."