By Lt. Chris Aiello
Paramedic Dustin Moore and EMT Gladys Plaza-Guzman were recognized at a ceremony in the Town of Fishkill in October for helping save the life of Rombout Fire Chief John Lucariello.
At the scene of a fire on Aug. 11, Empress’s dedicated town unit found Lucariello in a battle for his life after cardiac arrest. Moore, who had known Lucariello for 17 years, began lifesaving ALS interventions, and the crew transported him to St. Luke’s Montefiore Hospital, where the ER team worked on him aggressively for nearly an hour.
At that point, Lucariello was believed to have died, but a few minutes later, he began breathing on his own again and had a pulse, a situation known as the Lazarus Effect. Lifesaving care was resumed in the ER, and after successful cardiac care at St. Luke’s and Westchester Medical Center, he returned home.
