Heart attack survivor thanks veterans, first responders who saved his life in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Fire Department is honoring a group of Valley veterans who helped save a fellow veteran as he suffered a heart attack.

"These guys came and helped me when I needed it," said Military veteran Clifford Lester.

Through tears, Lester described how thankful he is to the group of people who stepped in to save his life.

About a month ago, Lester needed help moving into a new home in Fresno.

Through the Veterans Affairs Hospital, he got that support from the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

"We're an association of people who like to get out, continue that camaraderie, continue to help Vets, and kind of be with like-minded people, doing what we like to do, which is ride motorcycles," said Matt Rossoni with the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

But when the veteran volunteers were moving Lester's belongings, the unthinkable happened.

"I had just passed Clifford. He went upstairs with a box, and I was going down to grab another box. When I came back up, he was face forward on some boxes," said Mike Lopez, VP of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

Mike Lopez says the group jumped into action, doing everything possible to help the 65-year-old, who was unresponsive.

One person called 911 while the others started performing CPR.

Within minutes, the Fresno Fire Department was on the scene.

"I had my crew swap in and initiate high-performance CPR, which is a new form of CPR that were trained on recently, which is highly effective," said Rob Lee with the Fresno Fire Department.

High-performance CPR is when a trained individual performs continuous compressions.

Lee believes the new technique mixed with early defibrillation is what saved Lester's life.

Three weeks after that heart attack, Lester was out of the hospital.

He says he's grateful to all of the people who helped give him a second chance at life.

"I appreciate everything they've done for me. And for the fire department EMTs, the veterans and everybody else that helped me,"

The fire department will honor the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association with a civilian life-saving award at its next award ceremony.

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