Shelby Township first responders honored for life-saving actions

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – It’s been a tough week for first responders in Metro Detroit and Saturday a group was honored for their life-saving actions.

A group of Shelby Township firefighters and a dispatcher were recognized for keeping a man alive through a heart attack. That man’s daughter was also honored for making all the right calls.

“Kind of speechless about it,” Mike Redford said.

Redford, 70, went into cardiac arrest in October. The fire department said his heart stopped beating and he stopped breathing while he was home.

His daughter, Tammy, is a nurse at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. She called 911 and then started CPR.

Shelby Township fire chief said Redford passed away three times as his crews worked on him on the way to the hospital.

“I am really thankful they were there so fast,” Redford said.

Local 4 met with the Redford’s at a tactical gear shop where the company honored Tammy and the six Shelby Township firefighters that worked on Redford. They also honored the dispatcher, Janice Hobbs, who stayed on the line with Tammy as she worked to save her dad.

“I was surprised. I had no idea this was going on. It is what we do, we had a good outcome, we are happy about that,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the lesson is to call 911 immediately. If you don’t know how to do CPR they will walk you through it until first responders can arrive.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.