COHO

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First class rescue after heart attack honored

The "Coho" crew’s actions on June 26, 2011, were hailed for saving a Georgia man’s life who had suffered a massive heart attack aboard the ferry on May 27. He and his wifesent fruit baskets to thank the Port Angeles-based crew who sprang into action and saved his life by heroic efforts as well as two passengers and the medical staffs at the Olympic [Medical Center] hospital and St. Joseph’s hospital in Tacoma. The "Coho", which travels several times daily between Port Angeles and Victoria, was in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 45 minutes from the dock when the man lost consciousness and collapsed. First on the scene were the Second Mate , the Quartermaster Brandon Melville and the Matron on Board, all of whom have extensive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They were joined by two good Samaritans — a respiratory therapist who manned an airway mask and a nurse. The patient was shocked 13 times with a defibrillator before he regained a pulse as the "Coho" rounded Ediz Hook doing 16 knots at full speed. Medics rushed the patient from the ferry dock to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles. He was airlifted to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. He lost his pulse a second time. Ryan Burles, president and chief operating officer of Black Ball Ferry Line, which owns the Coho ferry, described the actions of the crew as “first-class.”