Woodcliff Lake firefighters help rescue man while golfing in River Vale

Joshua Jongsma | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption First responders train on automated CPR machines The Cedar Grove Ambulance and Rescue Squad and local police officers learn how to operate the township's first Lucas CPR machine.

A pair of Woodcliff Lake firefighters out for a day of golf thought the only hazards they would have to worry about were the kind that could add strokes to their score.

Instead, Jeffrey Schuster and James Drobinske sprang into action when an elderly man collapsed on the course at Valley Brook in River Vale on July 16. The pair performed CPR on the hot and humid day for seven minutes before he regained a pulse.

He was then taken to the hospital, and Monday the fire department received word that he was on the road to recovery.

"You don't want to have too many memories like that," Woodcliff Lake Fire Chief Dan Schuster, Jeff's son, said, "but to have one like that with a happy ending is good."

Jeff Schuster, a former chief, and Drobinske, a former captain, were on the 17th hole when they saw people ahead of them waving and trying to get their attention. A hill obscured their vision of the scene at first but they drove on the cart to find the man on the ground.

While the Woodcliff Lake firefighters performed CPR, River Vale police arrived with an AED to help revive the man. He was in critical condition for a time before his health improved.

"They got a phone call from the gentleman's wife," Dan Schuster said. "She called them to let them know that he's doing well and he's really looking forward to meeting them soon."

Schuster said local officials hope to bring the man and two firefighters to an upcoming council meeting to honor them. The department also hopes to donate an AED to the River Vale golf course if they do not have one, the fire chief said.

Drobinske and Jeff Schuster have been friends their whole lives, Dan Schuster said. Jeff Schuster served as Woodcliff Lake's fire chief in 2003 and 2004.

The incident highlights the importance of experience with CPR, Schuster said. The Woodcliff Lake Fire Department requires all members to be certified, but the chief encouraged everyone to take a course.

CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival if done properly while they're in cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. About 90 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die.

"The more people who learn CPR," he said, "the better the chance everybody has."

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com

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