Having the right skills at the right time can save a life, and Joseph Halfar should know – he’s saved two.
Halfar, who owns Prorise Painting, was driving in Burnaby on business nearly a year ago when he saw someone in distress.
“I was at the corner of Willingdon [Avenue] and Hastings [Street], waiting for the light to turn. And there was a guy stumbling, looking like he was drunk, sort of leaning on the fence,” he told the NOW. “I worked with the City of Burnaby as a lifeguard for 10 years so I kind of clued in, wow, this guy is having a heart attack. So I pulled over and got out of the car and said, ‘Hey, how’s it going, my name’s Joseph, are you doing ok?’ And he dropped to the ground, basically he collapsed.”
Halfar called 911, and then the man stopped breathing, he said.
“I was doing CPR on him there on the corner and the crazy thing is, people were just walking by on their phones,” he added.
The paramedics arrived and worked on the man for 20 minutes, according to Halfar.
“Three days later, the police called and said, ‘the doctors want to thank you for saving his life,’” Halfar said.
Then, this past April, Halfar was at a yoga class in Port Moody. Soon after class began, a woman collapsed, he said. She stopped breathing, and Halfar performed CPR on her. She had a heart attack, but survived.
Because of these two incidences, Halfar has decided to provide his employees with CPR training. He credits his lifeguard training for his quick response and ability to help two people in medical distress.
“When I worked for the City of Burnaby, I never did CPR on anyone,” he said, adding you never know when the training will be needed. “It does help, to make sure you know what to do, because it can happen any time.”
