It was just another ordinary day in the lunchroom; hot dogs and roast beef on the menu. Frederick Godbout, Millwright/Lead Hand, was eating his lunch with a co-worker when he noticed a commotion a few tables away. At first he thought they were just horsing around but Fred quickly realized something was definitely wrong… one man was chocking and another man was trying to save him. The victim’s airway was completely blocked and he was turning blue. Fred quickly jumped from his seat and sprang into action. Relying on his firefighting training and experience, he went into life-saving mode. Standing at nearly 6-feet tall, Fred was much smaller compared to the victim; he could barely get his arms around him to apply the proper Heimlich technique he had learnt at his first aid training courses. Undeterred, he continued to perform abdominal thrusts… until the victim lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor. Fred did not let this new set-back stop him but instead he re-adjusted himself and, using the victim’s body weight to provide the leverage he needed, he managed to dislodge the piece of meat. It was a great relief to hear the victim sputtering, coughing and breathing again.
Although this incident yielded a positive result, it is not always the case. Accidents in the workplace are common, and workers need to be able to respond. That is why first aid training in the workplace is so important.
As Fred replayed the day’s event in his mind, he thought to himself : “If ever in doubt about the importance of safety training, or the purpose of safety meetings, just ask yourself: Who’s looking out for me?”
Congratulations Fred. The DCM family is proud of you. We are lucky to have a guy like you on the team.