Windham EMT receives prestigious Red Cross honor

By Ed Pierce

Rob Parritt of Windham shares an undeniable bond with Windham Fire Rescue Emergency Medical Technician Dustin Andrews and because of it, Parritt is alive today.

The life of Windham resident Rob Parritt, left, was saved on
Jan. 24 by Windham Fire Rescue EMT Dustin Andrew, who
was off duty at the time. Andrew was presented with a 
Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action
at the Windham Town Council meeting on Tuesday night.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

Back on Jan. 24 of this year, Andrews was off duty and traveling home near the Windham and Gorham town line when he observed a vehicle ahead of him driving erratically. Suddenly a bystander appeared in the middle of the road and waved Andrews down, telling him that the erratic driver had accelerated, left the roadway, and crashed into a snowbank.

Parritt says that he was on his way to work that night and remembers very little of that entire day. But what happened to him was he suffered cardiac arrest and passed out, crashing his vehicle.

When Andrews realized what had happened, he radioed for assistance and when approaching the crash scene, he discovered that Parritt was turning different colors inside the vehicle. He realized that Parritt was not breathing and required immediate medical attention. With the help of the bystander, Andrews broke out a window in the vehicle and the two of them pulled Parritt out. Andrews initiated CPR and continued it for about eight to 10 minutes before paramedics arrived at the site to take over and transport Parritt to the hospital.

Because of his training, bravery, ability to perform CPR and quick thinking, Parritt survived the incident and was taken to the hospital, where he spent about a week recovering from the harrowing ordeal. Hospital doctors implanted a defibrillator to monitor his heart rate and put a pacemaker in his chest to stabilize his heartbeat to keep it from beating too slowly and going again into cardiac arrest.

“I got to meet Dustin about two weeks later,” Parritt said. “I know how lucky I am to be here and how thankful I am that Dustin was there that night.”

Parritt is married with three children and eight grandchildren and attended the Windham Town Council meeting on Tuesday night where Andrews was presented with a Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action for his lifesaving efforts by Steve Thomas, Executive Director of the Red Cross of Southern Maine.

Thomas pointed out that a medical emergency can happen at any time and that quick action by a bystander can be the difference sometimes between life and death. He said that performing CPR during the first few minutes of cardiac arrest can double or even triple someone’s likelihood of survival.

In typical situations like this, Thomas said that any one of us could find ourselves as a victim, and any one of us could find ourselves as a bystander.

“Thanks to his training and fortitude, Dustin was able to be the bystander we all hope comes to our aid, and the bystander we should all aspire to be,” Thomas said. “Dustin succeeded in fulfilling the mission of the American Red Cross, to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies. He saved a life, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and his neighbor. May we all possess Dustin’s strength, courage, and lifesaving skills if ever they are needed.”

According to Thomas, it was his great privilege to present Andrews with a lifesaving award.

“His courage, bravery and training are something that we all can aspire to,” Thomas said. “You never know when you may also need to save a life. Dustin’s quick thinking, his bravery and his CPR skills are the reason Rob is with us at this ceremony tonight.”

Four months later, Parritt said he is feeling much better now and that he just can’t say enough good things about Andrews and all the Windham Fire and Rescue paramedics and public safety personnel who came to his rescue that night.

“These are simple outstanding young people,” he said. “And in Dustin’s case, I cannot ever thank him enough. “Not everybody would have stopped to help that night. He did.”

Andrews said that he was humbled to receive the award from the Red Cross and that it was presented with many of Parritt’s family in attendance at the council meeting.

“I’m happy he’s here and happy he made it,” Andrews said. “When you get right down to it, lifesaving is the reason why we do this.” <