Man whose heart stopped on his roof thanks Somerset Air Ambulance

Mark Long, a Somerset firefighter, collapsed on the roof of his home and was spotted by his daughter's boyfriend, Olly, who climbed up to help him.

Recalling the incident, Mark said: "I was carrying out some repairs on my garage roof, while my daughter Millie was busy preparing dinner. Her boyfriend Olly came outside to let me know that it was ready, only to find that I had collapsed.  

"He climbed up on the roof and started to shout for help, whilst Millie phoned 999. Luckily, my neighbour Brian was getting out of his car and heard Olly shouting. Brian joined him and started giving me CPR; thankfully, he had been taught this at his son’s football club."

The pair were joined by another neighbour, Darren, while Brian's wife Charlotte made her way to the local pub to get the defibrillator kept there.

Before Charlotte could get back from the pub the community first responders had been alerted to Mark's emergency and arrived with a defibrillator.

Mark added: "I can’t remember anything about the incident as I was unconscious throughout. However, I’m told that I received one shock before an ambulance, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) and the fire service turned up to help.

He thanks all of the medics at DSAA and Musgrove Park for their impeccable care. (Image: DSAA)

"The assistance from the fire service wasn’t needed in the end, as I was carried down from the roof by the first responders, neighbours and my friends."

Mark was put into an induced coma by the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) team who airlifted him to Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital.

He said: "I have no recollection of my time in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In fact, I have no memory of at least a week before my incident and my memory only became clear once I was in the Coronary Care Unit."

The DSAA wrote in a post about the incident: "Mark Long’s story is another incredible example of the ‘chain of survival’."

He thanks all of the medics at DSAA and Musgrove Park for their "impeccable" care.

Mark was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and has had a "fairly good recovery". He feels "really lucky to be alive, with no long-term issues to my mobility and brain function."

On returning home, the family was visited by Sam Rutherford, one of DSAA’s Patient and Family Liaison Nurses, who "was truly amazing from the start", Mark said.

Mark later visited the charity’s airbase and met some of those involved in caring for him that day. This included the 999 call handler, one of the nurses from the ICU and most of the crew from the air ambulance.

He said: "It was a very humbling and emotional experience, which saw me welling up on a number of occasions."

Mark added: "I have spent most of my adult life as a firefighter, so I have worked hand-in-hand with the air ambulance crews and know that their work helps to mitigate severe injuries and saves lives."

"DSAA is a charity that depends on donations from the public, so I hope that by sharing my story, it promotes their vital work.

"I will be eternally grateful to all involved for saving my life and getting me to hospital so swiftly. Without this, I don’t think I would be here to tell my tale today."

Nurse Sam Rutherford said: "Mark’s life was saved with the help of many different individuals and teams on the day of his incident. His family and neighbours did a sterling job delivering CPR and without that, things might have been very different.

"Those in attendance included an off-duty paramedic, two community first responders, our ambulance service colleagues, DSAA’s Somerset outreach car and our critical care team on the aircraft.

"Ollie Zorab (DSAA Specialist Practitioner in Critical Care) was working from home at the time, when a GoodSAM alert was activated. GoodSAM is a system used by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, to alert staff and volunteers to patients experiencing a cardiac arrest within their immediate vicinity.

"He, along with an off-duty paramedic and two community first responders, arrived within minutes of the 999 call. Fortunately, CPR had already begun and after the use of a defibrillator, Mark’s heart began beating in just three minutes. He was gently lowered from the roof and post-resuscitation care began before DSAA’s critical care team arrived by air.

"To minimise any injury to the brain and to have his breathing supported by a ventilator, the critical care team administered a pre-hospital emergency anaesthetic. He was then airlifted to hospital where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit."

"It has been a pleasure to support the family during Mark’s recovery and to see him looking so well when he came back to visit us. His story, once again, highlights an incredible chain of survival and how everyone involved, really did make such a vital difference to his outcome."

Donations can be made at www.dsairambulance.org.uk.