A coordinated emergency response by Wilton-area first responders that saved a person’s life during an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest last fall was recognized Monday night at Wilton Town Hall.
The Wilton Ambulance Service opened the Jan. 12 Wilton Select Board meeting by presenting Life-Saving Awards to multiple agencies and individuals for their roles in responding to a cardiac arrest on Oct. 27, 2025.
Responders from Wilton Ambulance Service, Wilton Fire Department, Wilton Police Department, Milford Area Communications Center, and New Hampshire 911 worked in coordination from the initial emergency call through prehospital care and transport to hospital treatment. The patient survived.
Ambulance Service Chief Danielle Gardiner delivered a brief speech, emphasizing the difficult odds faced by those responding to cardiac arrests.
“Every year, more than 350,000 people in this country suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,” she said, adding that 70% of those collapse at home. “Only 25.7% will survive long enough to reach a hospital. Only 10.5% will survive the discharge. And only 8.2% will leave their neurological function intact.”
According to Gardiner, the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is about 10%.
She concluded by honoring what she referred to as the “one-in-12 outcome.”
“A life saved when the odds were heavy and the margin was thin. This was not one moment or one person. It was a chain — beginning with a call for help, carried by bystanders, strengthened by responders and held through the doors of the hospital. Tonight, we pause to recognize those links and present life-saving awards,” she said.
The following were recognized:
Wilton Ambulance Service: Paramedic Jeff Francis, EMT Abigail Wilson, and EMT Patrick Robitaille;
Wilton Fire Department: Chief/AEMT Norm Skantze, Deputy Chief Tom Staiti, Lieutenant Parker Dick, Firefighter/AEMT TJ Staiti, Firefighter Chris Kennedy, and Firefighter Shaun O’Connor;
Wilton Police Department: Interim Chief John Frechette and Patrolman George Durham;
Milford Area Communications Center: Communications Specialist Cameron Stacey;
New Hampshire 911: EMD Communications Specialist Israel Boley;
Civilian: Aleah Bouley.
