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LEHI — 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.
He has been dispatched to numerous situations to help people, but he was recently honored for an incident where his actions saved a hiker’s life.
Kimball said he was working a shift for Life Flight in January when he was dispatched in the medical helicopter to American Fork Canyon.
“We got a call for a hiker having some chest pains, some chest discomfort,” Kimball said. “So immediately that’s a trigger for someone that could go downhill pretty quick, depending on what is going on.”
The hiker and his son were 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 said.
Kimball hiked to the area where the man and his son were located and began assessing the situation while the Life Flight helicopter left to get more personnel from the command post at the Cedar Hills Golf Course.
The man, identified as American Fork resident Rick Ellison, went into cardiac arrest at the same time that Kimball reached him, according to a Lehi City news release.
“I was the only one up there for a little while before more rescuers could be there with me,” Kimball said. “He did have a period where he lost consciousness and (me and the son) had to start compressions while I got the defibrillator set up to deliver a shock, which his heart needed at that moment and time.”
Kimball said he didn’t have his entire arsenal of equipment with him because he had to hike to reach Ellison. As a result, he had to use critical thinking to decide how to treat Ellison at the scene until another medical helicopter with hoist equipment arrived.
For me, being able to feel like I helped preserve a life for other family members to be able to spend more quality time with, that's important to me. It feels good to be able to help someone when they need it most.
–Ryan Kimball, Lehi City Fire Department firefighter and paramedic
“It was very fast-paced and very high-speed,” he said. “The hoist paramedic, when he landed to pick up the patient, could tell that I was exhausted mentally.”
After a procedure at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Ellison made a full recovery and Kimball has stayed in contact with him.
“He’s doing great,” Kimball said of Ellison. “He’s an avid hiker and has plans to do more hiking. He jokes that he’ll be more careful. Obviously, his diet plan is a little bit different and his lifestyle has changed, but it’s so neat to see him be able to see him do what he loves and be able to get outside and be with his family.”
On March 10, Kimball was awarded with American Fork Chamber of Commerce’s Life Saving Award.
“The professionalism displayed by Ryan Kimball is a tremendous reflection on himself, the Lehi City Fire Department and Life Flight,” Lehi City spokesperson Robert Ranc said in a news release. “Ryan is a great example of the kind of skill and courage possessed by our first responders. We are grateful to have people like Ryan that keep our communities safe.”
Kimball said he was just glad he could be at the right place at the right time.
“My wife joked to me saying, ‘Well, everyone is making it a big deal, but it’s your job,' " he said. “It is what we train to do and what we love to do … For me, being able to feel like I helped preserve a life for other family members to be able to spend more quality time with, that’s important to me … It feels good to be able to help someone when they need it most.”
