Station 07: Back from the dead

The call initially came in as a possible electrical accident. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue's Engine 7 arrived within minutes, and as the crew arrived on the scene, dispatch clarified that it was a far more critical call: The patient was in cardiac arrest. Before the crew even stepped off the truck, the scene was chaotic.

Sheriff's deputies and concerned neighbors were everywhere. Battalion Chief Michael Gautier, Captain of Engine 7 that day, vividly recalls the moment. When he reached the garage where the patient was lying on the floor, a deputy who had been performing CPR stepped aside, making way for the medics.

The patient had gone into cardiac arrest after being electrocuted.

Rescuing a firefighter

One of the priorities at an electrocution scene is to assess for any remaining danger—to ensure whatever injured the patient won’t harm the crew or anyone else. As Gautier quickly scanned the area, a familiar sight caught his eye: a firefighter union sticker on a vehicle in the garage.

"When it's a firefighter, you don't work harder than you do for anyone else," Gautier admits, "but it does hit differently. It raises the intensity."

The patient had no pulse. His breathing was faint and irregular — what medics call “guppy” breathing, indicating he was early in the process of cardiac arrest and in critical condition.

A lot to live for

The patient was Wesley Stevens, a Tampa firefighter. He and his wife Hannah run a small business crafting beautiful wooden American flags with fire service logos, often as retirement gifts. That day, his wife Hannah, nine months pregnant with their first child, had stepped out to pick up lunch. A family friend heard Wesley fall and immediately called 911, starting CPR.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Ernie Foster was just a few blocks away. Within a minute, he arrived at the Stevens home and took over CPR until Engine 7 and the HCFR team arrived.

Despite their best efforts, CPR alone wasn’t enough. While it was keeping Wesley’s blood circulating, he still was not breathing on his own.

In the garage, Gautier's crew defibrillated Wesley twice with the Lifepak defibrillator, but it still wasn't enough. They quickly loaded him into Rescue 33 for transport to Tampa General Hospital.

Beautiful, but dangerous

Wesley’s accident occurred while he engaged in a high-risk hobby: fractal wood burning. The artistic process involves sending thousands of volts of electricity through wet wood, creating intricate, unique burn patterns. It's beautiful work, but it's dangerous. According to the American Association of Woodturners, more than 30 people have died attempting similar projects since 2016.

Early intervention made the difference

Wesley would not become part of that tragic statistic, thanks to the immediate intervention of a friend who started CPR, Deputy Foster's rapid response, and the speed, precision, and medical care of HCFR.

The urgency of Wesley's condition meant multiple medics were needed in the back of the rescue unit while trying to stabilize him on the way to the hospital. That created a rare opportunity: the front seat was freed up for Hannah, who was only days away from her due date. As they prepared to race toward the hospital, she turned to Gautier and asked the one question that no first responder ever wants to answer: "Is he going to be okay?"

There was no easy response. Wesley had been unresponsive to the defibrillator, and by then, he had effectively been dead for more than 15 minutes. Gautier could only tell her the truth.

"We're doing everything we can," he said. "But we need to get to the hospital right now."

Gautier closed her door and hurried to the back of the rescue unit, where his crew advised they had a pulse. He immediately ran back to the passenger's window to tell Hannah there was some hope, and Wesley had a pulse again —17 minutes after going into cardiac arrest.

A new chapter begins

Once they got Wesley’s heart beating and his breathing restored, he only needed to be monitored in the hospital for a couple of days before he was allowed to continue his road to recovery at home.

While he was alive and healing, there was a new normal in his family. Hannah had their baby at Tampa General while Wesley was still being cared for after his near-death experience.

Wesley’s outcome is unusual. Most cardiac arrest incidents are unwitnessed, and it is uncommon for CPR to be administered as quickly as it was in this case. The blood flow being circulated throughout his body from CPR kept his vital organs supplied with blood well enough for the HCFR team to get his heart beating again.