An off-duty Nantucket firefighter is being credited with saving a man’s life Saturday afternoon at Cisco Brewers after he fell to the ground unconscious.
Nantucket firefighter Alana Macey was working her second job as a part-time bartender at the brewery when the call of duty found her nonetheless. Witnesses said after the middle-aged man fell to the ground, Macey left her post at the bar and came to his aid.
“She jumps out, rolled him over, and started doing CPR,” said island resident Mike Sullivan, who witnessed the sequence of events. “I had tears in my eyes watching her save his life. Everyone did.”
Macey was able to revive the man, who eventually sat up and gave the crowd a thumbs-up before he was taken away in an ambulance.
“It was incredible, but this is what they do all the time,” Sullivan said.
Nantucket Fire Department Deputy Chief Sean Mitchell said the man was transported to Nantucket Cottage Hospital in stable condition “thanks in part to the swift actions of FF Macey.”
Mitchell added “Firefighter Macey took control of a chaotic scene and began to assess and treat the patient while awaiting the arrival of the ambulance. Although FF Macey was not technically on-duty at the fire department yesterday, her actions show us that firefighters are never off-duty.”
In a message sent to the Current Sunday night, Macey said: “When I arrived the man was pale, not breathing and receiving CPR by other bystanders. I assessed the chaotic situation, checking his pulse and asking others to clear the area. The gentleman had a weak pulse and at the time I chose to perform airway clearing maneuvers and rolled him to his side. Within moments he was gaining his color, alert and speaking full sentences. I stayed with him until ambulance arrived and communicated the situation to my colleagues. I’m thankful for those who helped assist, particularly my Cisco colleagues for controlling the chaotic scene and helping keep everyone calm.”
Macey, 29, is one of most recent additions to the NFD’s ranks, and she originally hails from a suburb outside Sydney, Australia, where she had worked as an EMT since 2012. After relocating to the island full-time by 2019, Macey began the process of getting re-certified in the United States and beginning her career in her new home. Macey told N Magazine earlier this year that she had passion for the medical aspects of her job, and that training to become a full-time firefighter had been a welcome challenge, one made more interesting by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s always been my goal to work in medicine and the EMT service, but it’s been so cool to learn this whole new skill and serve the community in a greater way,” she said.
