By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Oxford — Atlas Township Assistant Fire Chief Ed Klimek along with Jason Harrison, a firefighter/paramedic with Washington Township in Macomb County and a Hadley Township resident recently teamed up to save a life.
Klimek, along with his wife Monica are owners and operators of Italia Gardens Restaurant, 1076 S. Lapeer Road, Oxford.
On March 1, Harrison, a restaurant customer found Chris Gallagher a dishwasher at the restaurant for the past nine years face down in the parking of the establishment.
“Jason’s wife came to the restaurant to get some help,” said Klimek. “Jason and I assessed the situation that he did not have a pulse and was not breathing. We rolled him over and began doing CPR.”
Both firefighters took turns performing chest compression until Oxford Fire personnel arrived about six minutes later, said Klimek.
“We were able to get some agonal breathing and when Oxford got there they shocked him twice in the parking lot,” he said.
Agonal refers to labored or gasping breaths.
Klimek, who will take over as Atlas Township Fire Chief April 1 following the retirement of Chief Steve Bullen, has been a firefighter/paramedic for 29 years and has performed CPR hundreds of times over his career.
The American Heart Association estimates that CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival during a cardiac arrest. Following a heart attack there’s a 10% chance of survival with CPR that can increase to 40-50%, added Klimek.
“People don’t want to learn CPR since it’s mouth-to-mouth,” he said. “Even if it’s just chest compressions it will be helpful. This can be vital to saving lives. For the past three years in a row I’ve helped bring three victims back with CPR.”
As of March 10, Gallagher remained hospitalized but recovering and will require bypass surgery in the near future.
Atlas Township Supervisor Jim Busch commended Klimek for his dedication to servicing his fellow citizens.
“Recently Ed Klimek and Jason Harrison performed CPR on an employee of Italian Gardens in Oxford who had gone into full cardiac arrest, saving his life,” said Busch. “His dedication to helping others is exemplary.  Atlas Township is lucky to have such a dedicated and caring person leading our volunteer fire department.”