As the four 24 Hour Fitness employees stood at the front of the crowd last Friday afternoon, slight smiles formed on their faces.

While Redmond Fire Department (RPD) firefighter Paul Atkinson praised them for helping save a 35-year-old man who suffered a heart attack at the local club in January, he added that the rescuers were reluctant to be in the spotlight. They just wanted to help a person in need.

“I think reality is much greater than that, I think it’s important to recognize (them). When something bad happened, these guys didn’t turn away from it,” Atkinson said.

Assistant sales manager Nash Rathnam alerted people about the situation, assistant operations manager Laurel Moffitt called 9-1-1 and assistant fitness manager Miguel Vizcarra and general manager Robert Manning performed CPR on the man, who collapsed on the basketball court in back of the facility at 7320 170th Ave. N.E.

Rathnam also grabbed a nearby automated external defibrillator (AED), which they used to shock and restart the man’s heart, and Moffitt made sure everyone in the club remained calm. Atkinson also credited the club for having an AED on the premises and the employees for knowing how to perform CPR.

RPD chief of medical services Mike Hilley said the survivor, who chose to remain anonymous and didn’t attend last Friday’s gathering, is doing well. Hilley has visited the man and his family, and Atkinson added that “he sends his deepest gratitude for everyone who helped him survive.”

RPD fire chief Tommy Smith along with about 15 other department firefighters and medics were at Friday’s event, during which Rathnam, Vizcarra and Manning were awarded Gold CPR Lifesaving Medals and all four received Medic One Foundation T-shirts that read “I Am One, I Know One, I Saved One” on the back.

Medic One executive director Jan Sprake doled out the shirts and told the employees that they were the first link in the chain of survival.

“We thank you for that, we thank you for responding. At Medic One Foundation, you’re now part of our group,” she said.

For five to 10 minutes, Vizcarra did compressions and Manning did breathing on the survivor. They kept the man stable enough for paramedics to take over, shocking the man a few more times with the AED and bringing him back to consciousness.

Vizcarra said it was a scary situation and felt like everything happened quickly. He didn’t think about it, he just acted.

“From the ages of 18 to 23, I have witnessed about six or seven car accidents, I’ve had to pull people off of cars and stuff like that, but I’ve never actually had to do CPR,” Vizcarra said.

“I’m honored, I’m happy to be recognized,” he added.

“But honestly, the paramedics, these guys, they do this for a living. They have decided that every day of their lives, they’re gonna put themselves in a situation to save lives, whether it puts their lives at risk or not. They’re the real heroes here.”

Hilley said that 20 years ago, medics and firefighters would never have imagined that AEDs would be hanging on the walls of businesses for employees to use in emergencies.

He noted that the 24 Hour Fitness crew contributed to King County’s 60-70-percent resuscitation rate, the highest in the nation.

“You knew what to do,” Hilley told them. “You acted quickly, and when the fire department came in, you guys looked like professional rescuers.”