NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — A priest is back home thanks to a New Bedford firefighter who saved his life while on vacation.
Firefighter Michael Desouza, assigned to Ladder Co. 3, was on a family trip to Bermuda when he and a Waltham 911 dispatcher responded to an emergency at the beach.
According to a social media post by the New Bedford Fire Department, a 75-year-old man was found unresponsive, floating in about two feet of water next to his brother.
Desouza and the dispatcher pulled the man to shore and began CPR. He was reportedly not breathing and had no pulse.
(Courtesy: New Bedford Fire Department)
Shortly after, the department said the man “experienced a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and became semi-conscious.” Two surgeons who happened to be at the beach also helped until the man was taken to a local hospital.
The man, a Catholic priest from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was on a cruise with his family celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination. He has since fully recovered and returned home.
The fire department praised Desouza for exemplifying its “Service Above Self” slogan.
“His lifesaving actions illustrate that the knowledge and skills learned as a firefighter can be called upon to save a life no matter where in the world you might be,” the department wrote.