May 23-- Two Renton firefighters are being hailed for their in-flight heroics after assisting passengers aboard separate airline flights this month.
The Renton Patch reports that firefighter/EMT Chris Kyrstofiak was returning to Seattle from a training trip to Baltimore on Friday night when Alaska Airlines flight attendants announced that they needed help from any doctors or firefighters that might be on board.
Kyrstofiak, along with another EMT from Nampa, Idaho, helped stabilize an unconscious man and gave him medical aid for the remainder of the flight. KOMO says the man eventually regained consciousness and was able to walk off the plane on his own.
The quick response from Kyrstofiak came on the heels of another Renton firefighter stepping up in the moment to help on board an airliner, according to the Patch.
Earlier this month, Marc Donnell was flying to Los Angeles when a passenger became ill during his flight. As in Kyrstofiak's case, flight attendants asked for medical assistance and Donnell responded, providing care along with the flight crew and then helping transfer the patient to emergency crews when the plane landed.
Kyrstofiak told KOMO that firefighters are always thinking about helping out in emergency situations.
"It's something you always wonder if you're going to have to do," he said.
