A MAN who nearly died outside Longtown Fire Station owes his life to the rapid response of firefighter Daniel Clements who saw him collapse.

The incident happened on the morning of 17 June last year in front of the fire station in Mary Street, Longtown. On seeing what had happened Daniel rushed to the man’s aid and found that he had suffered a heart attack.

He called for an ambulance and then, and then immediately began administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the man. He continued the gruelling process for 15 minutes until medics and an ambulance arrived.

The man, who lived in Longtown, was taken to hospital where, thanks to the swift treatment he had received from Daniel, he went on to make a full recovery.

Now Daniel has been awarded a top national life-saving honour, a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate and been praised by the ambulance crew who took the man to hospital for saving his life.

He has also won the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Royal Humane Society who said: "He truly was the right person in the right place at the right time and as a result the man is alive and well today.

"For CPR to succeed it’s vital that the procedure is started as soon as possible and there was no delay in Daniel reaching the man and beginning to administer CPR. He did a great job and richly deserves the award he is to receive.

"At the same time this is yet another case which illustrates the value of as many people as possible, not just member of the emergency services, learning how to administer  CPR. It can, as it did here, make the difference between life and death.”

The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back more than two centuries. It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan.

Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The Society also awards non health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 87,000 cases and made over 200,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.

It was one of a select number of organisations to receive a donation from the Patron’s fund which was set up to acknowledge work done by organisations of which the Queen is the patron, to mark her 90th birthday.

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