Rapids company member is EMS Provider of the Year

Brandon Sutton, an emergency medical technician with Rapids Volunteer Fire Company, will be awarded the EMS Provider of the Year award by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York today at the organization’s 145th annual conference in Syracuse.

Sutton will receive a medal of valor for his efforts to assist a 66-year-old man suffering cardiac arrest in Clarence on Sept. 14, 2016. The call came in to Rapids company and Sutton, to whom the rapid response vehicle was assigned at the time, responded first. Upon arrival at the scene, through a dispatcher, he coached the man’s family members to continue CPR while he prepped an automatic external defibrillator for use. After Sutton administered a shock, he was joined at the scene by fellow Rapids company responders who, together, got the man breathing on his own. The man later underwent multiple surgeries and is recovering.

“We have seen many great lifesaving responses over the years and this is definitely one of them,” FASNY President Ken Pienkowski said. “The perfect combination of proximity to the location, swift response and the high level of treatment provided by Brandon ensured that this patient did not lose his life that morning.”

Sutton was 20 years old at the time and had only possessed his EMT certification for a year. He transferred to Rapids company from Clarence Center Volunteer Fire Company in order to better utilize his certification. Rapids is a transporting agency.

“I feel like this response was meant to be,” Sutton said, “and I am glad that I was at the right place at the right time to help the patient pull through.”