Local 1928 Members Save Heart Attack Victim, Earn Lifesaving Award

*This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of The Electrical Worker Online

Ten members of Halifax Local 1928 employed by Nova Scotia Power will receive the IBEW’s Lifesaving Award after they saved the life of a retired member who was working as a supervisor in a power plant when he suffered a heart attack.

The incident occurred May 3 at Trenton Generating Station, about a two-hour drive north of Halifax.

“The guys are really happy to be recognized for a job well done,” said Ryan Mcmullin, a Local 1928 steward at the plant and one of the honorees. “It’s a pretty big deal. I’m just happy that our team responded and did what they were trained to do.”

Besides Mcmullin, other Local 1928 members being honored are Evan Thompson, Ray Anderson, Kevin Avery, Dale Anderson, Ian Pye, Brian Beaton and Matt Baird. The first five are part of the plant’s Emergency Response Team, which is trained to deal with medical emergencies.

Local 1928 members John “Junior” Aucoin and Ralph Harrietta were with supervisor Brian Noonan when he was stricken and alerted the ERT team. They also will be recognized.

“When you’re a firefighter, either the person is all right or there is not much you can usually do when you arrive on the scene,” said Anderson, who serves as a volunteer firefighter in the Nova Scotia town where he lives. “This was one where all the training pays off and makes a difference.”

Noonan, who retired from Local 1928 in 2010 but still works six months each year as a maintenance supervisor for Myette Engineering, was working on a platform at Unit 5’s burner front with Aucoin and Harrietta when he fell ill.

Aucoin stayed with him while Harrietta ran to the control room. Mcmullin just happened to be getting off the elevator and nearly bumped into him. He ran into the control room to notify Thompson, and both grabbed their EMT bags.

Thompson performed a scene assessment while Mcmullin got the oxygen ready. Noonan’s heart did not respond to stimulation from a defibrillator, so Thompson began CPR.

After a few seconds of that, Noonan began to breathe. He was given oxygen and began to show more signs of life. Mcmullin and Thompson worked to keep him calm as other team members arrived. They helped stabilize him as emergency medical technicians came and then transported Noonan to a hospital.

He later underwent quadruple bypass surgery and made a full recovery, returning to the job in early August.

“I’m really glad I was at the plant,” he said. “I was maybe 35 to 40 feet from the ERT team. I live alone now and this could have happened at home or when I was outside by myself.

“If I was not working on the grid and those guys weren’t there, I probably wouldn’t be here now.”

Mcmullin noted that even as Noonan appeared to be stabilizing, plenty of work remained. He had to be loaded on a backboard and lowered to the ground, where he was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

“It was a huge relief to hear that once he was in the hospital, he was going to be all right,” Mcmullin said.

Since 2017, the IBEW’s Lifesaving Award is awarded to members whose direct involvement saves the life of a fellow human being.

“I’d like to thank each and every member at the plant, who showed outstanding leadership during a crisis,” Business Manager Jim Sponagle said.

“Saving a life is an incredible act, and these members responded quickly, working as a team in a challenging environment,” First District International Vice President Russ Shewchuk said. “We’re grateful to hear of Brother Noonan’s recovery and especially grateful to these members for their heroic actions.”