Two Flowery Branch police officers were recognized recently for their life-saving efforts earlier this year in restoring the heart rhythm of a man they found unresponsive and not breathing.
Patrick Charlton and Denton Vaughan used an Automated External Defibrillator that had been donated to the Flowery Branch Police Department by Firehouse Subs.
In 2016, in celebration of the 1,000th Firehouse Subs restaurant opening, Firehouse Subs and Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation co-founders Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen donated $1 million to support the Foundation’s 1,000 Automated External Defibrillator Gift Campaign, which awarded 1,000 AEDs to police departments in communities across the country.
Flowery Branch was one of the recipients.
According to a news release provided by Firehouse Subs, "On Sunday, January 13, 2019, a 55-year-old man collapsed on his porch in Flowery Branch, Georgia. He was unresponsive and not breathing. His wife immediately called 9-1-1 and with the help of the dispatcher, started chest compressions. Two Flowery Branch police officers were first to arrive at the rescue with an automated external defibrillator (AED) in hand. The officers used the AED, donated by Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, to shock the man and restore his heart’s rhythm."
From this point on, local first responders stepped in to provide further care and get him to the hospital. Ten days later he was able to return home.
“We are so thankful Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation was kind enough to donate the AED to our department as our budget dollars must be stretched very thinly. Since it is the only AED the department has, it stays in service every hour of every day and is rotated between officers on each of our four shifts,” said Flowery Branch Police Chief David R. Spillers.
Denton and Vaughan were not the only officers recently recognized for life-saving heroics. Cpl. Phil Davis and Officer Edward Murray were also singled out.
