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LEHI — A Lehi emergency responder credited with saving a hiker's life was awarded the Paramedic of the Year Award on July 15.
Ryan Kimball has served as a firefighter and paramedic since 2005, first in Davis County and currently for the Lehi City Fire Department and Utah County's Intermountain Life Flight.
In January, Kimball said he was working a shift for Life Flight when he was dispatched in the medical helicopter to American Fork Canyon to a hiker who had concerns of chest pains. American Fork resident Rick Ellison had been hiking with his son in an area with very steep terrain, and the helicopter didn't have hoist equipment so it could only land about 50 feet away.
Kimball hiked to the area where the Ellisons were located and began assessing the situation while the Life Flight helicopter left to get more personnel. Ellison went into cardiac arrest at the same time that Kimball reached him, according Lehi City.
Kimball and Ellison's son began CPR and defibrillation on the man, according to the city.
He treated Ellison until another medical helicopter with hoist gear arrived and Ellison was transported to a local hospital. After a procedure at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Ellison made a full recovery and Kimball has stayed in contact with him.
On March 10, Kimball was awarded with American Fork Chamber of Commerce's Life Saving Award, and on July 15, the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the Utah Health Department awarded him with the Paramedic of the Year Award.
"He is a great medic and firefighter," Lehi Fire Department Chief Jeremy Craft said in a statement. "Kimball exemplifies the type of service that our paramedics here at Lehi fire deliver to our citizens everyday."
Courtesy of Ryan Kimball
