Re: Lassen Employee Saved Through Prompt EMS Response

Lassen Volcanic National Park (CA)
Employee Saved Through Prompt EMS Response

Ranger Stephen Troy was driving from his home to the Ranger Operations Office in Mineral on the morning of April 18th when a park employee waved him down as he was passing by the Mineral Fire Bay. The employee said that maintenance worker Ron Brazil, 62, was feeling sick and that his supervisor thought he might have elevated blood pressure. Troy found Brazil in his work truck and escorted him into the fire office. At the same time, Brazil’s supervisor asked for assistance from EMT Scott Isaacson. Troy determined that Brazil felt general illness and fatigue, had begun feeling sick the previous night and hadn’t felt much improvement by morning, and was feeling a small amount of pressure and tightness in his chest. Brazil had been pulling carpeting out of a park residence the preceding day and had asked to take the day off and go home to rest while waiting for the illness to subside. He didn’t want either medical treatment or an ambulance response. Troy and Isaacson convinced him to go to the hospital due to the persistent chest pain. He agreed and they set off for St. Elizabeth Hospital in Red Bluff. Brazil remained fatigued but alert during the 40-minute drive and his vitals remained in the normal range. He was immediately admitted at the emergency room and an assessment was made within 10 minutes. He was then taken by ground ambulance to an intensive cardiac care facility at Mercy Hospital in Redding, 30 minutes away, where an operating room was being prepared and a heart surgeon was standing by. Brazil had heart surgery and plaque removed from his arteries and a stint emplaced. He is currently doing very well and recuperating at home in Oregon. The doctors have informed him that he most likely will be able to return to work “light duty” in a couple of weeks.

Reply Quote