Streamwood paramedics, cop honored for saving two

Two patients. Both in cardiac arrest.

Those were the emergencies Streamwood firefighter-paramedics and a police officer faced on consecutive days last month. The crews credited with saving both patients were honored by village officials Thursday night for their coordination and teamwork.

But the number of personnel also played a role, Fire Chief Chris Clark said. The department usually sends five paramedics on 911 calls like the one that came in around 1 a.m. Nov. 14.

“It's not necessarily universal, but it's the level of care the village of Streamwood provides,” Clark said.

An 18-year-old was in cardiac arrest (Clark can't say why because of privacy laws). After paramedics delivered chest compressions and four shocks via a defibrillator, his heart rhythm was back to normal. He arrived at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, where an ER physician was “very impressed with the outcome,” Clark said. Several days later, the teen was released.

The next day, on a different shift, another patient was in cardiac arrest about 10:30 a.m. Streamwood Officer Steve Unger rushed to both calls, but went the “extra distance” on the second, giving CPR to the person before paramedics got there, Clark said.

“We certainly appreciate when a police officer makes a contribution like that,” Clark said of Unger.

The rest of the team are: Battalion Chief Joe Ratzek; lieutenants Mike Hanning, Chris Way and Gary Urbahn; firefighters Lori Beach, Jeff Becker, Andy Dailey, James Lively, Dan Torkelson, Bryan Kominski, Jimmy Nixon and Scott Schmauderer.