First responders recognized for successful use of CPR at ceremony in Dix Hills

For Robert Engel, his daughter's quick use of CPR and the timely arrival of Dix Hills Fire Department emergency crews made the difference between life and death when he suffered a heart attack at his Dix Hills home on April 4.

With his wife, Kathy Engel, and daughter Chloe Engel looking on, Robert Engel, 62, and  daughter Madison Engel were onstage Saturday at the Dix Hills Fire Department to thank the team that saved his life.

The Suffolk Regional Emergency Medical Services Council (REMSCO) presented awards to police, fire, ambulance and other emergency personnel for successfully administering CPR to victims. The event celebrated National EMS Week, which honors medical first responders.

The Suffolk services council honored Dix Hills Fire Department Capt. Maresa Spizzirri and department members Adam Tomko, Robert Cavalieri, Joseph Panzini, David Winthrop and Marc Ligitor for the April 4 rescue. Crews from the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Southampton, Babylon, Huntington and Islip were also recognized for successfully using CPR. Suffolk County legislators and officials attended the ceremony.

Philip Cammann, chairman of Suffolk REMSCO — which oversees all 109 emergency agencies in Suffolk County — said stories like Robert Engel’s were the best part of the ceremony for first responders.

“That beats any certificate. I’ve had CPR saves, but when I’ve met the patient, it’s over the top,” Cammann said.

A newly retired union carpenter, Engel told Newsday that while details of that Monday morning were still fuzzy to him, he recalled a strange feeling in his chest that prompted him to make an appointment with a cardiologist. He asked his daughter Madison to watch him go to his car.

“My breathing was heavy and I knew it wasn’t going to happen,” Robert Engel said about driving. “Before I left, I said, ‘Just watch me from the door.’ I got in the car, from what they’re saying, and I really don’t remember what happened after.”

Madison Engel, 26, said she watched from the front door as her father collapsed in their driveway. Within seconds, she ran outside, called 911 and dispatchers instructed her on how to administer CPR to her father, keeping him alive until Dix Hills Fire Department members arrived about seven minutes later.

“I was definitely panicking, but then once [emergency crews] got there, I felt calmer. I said ‘They know how to do this, they do this every day’ so I knew it would be fine as soon as they got there,” Madison Engel said.

Kathy Engel, who was working in Lake Success that day, said she was thankful for the quick response time of emergency workers. Her husband has had stent tubes implanted and is starting cardiac rehabilitation later this month, she said. He had no heart or neurological damage, which she credited to their daughter’s quick thinking and the fire department’s speedy response time.

“We have such a good feeling of gratitude for all these hard, hard workers that are doing it on a voluntary basis. It’s really incredible when you think about it,” Kathy Engel said. “We all have a new outlook on life, and it’s a beautiful thing.”