Masonic life saver

As a direct result of an initiative started by St John Ambulance, Humberside in 2006, an elderly Hull man is about to be discharged from hospital after surviving a near-fatal heart attack.

Saving a life

Mike Steel and David Duffill were credited with this dramatic and successful life-saving response. Both having been trained by St John Ambulance in resuscitation techniques and the use of an Automated External Defibrulator, Steel and Duffill were able to make use of this training to react effectively when they say the casualty collapse in early March.

Proving that they were able to apply their training to a real-life situation, Steel and Duffill successfully re-started the victim’s heart using the Defibrillator and continued with CPR until the arrival of Paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service who were able to transport him to hospital alive, albeit in a critical condition.

As members of the Freemasons, Brothers Mike Steel and David Duffill and the casualty were all at a meeting of the De La Pole Lodge No 1605 when the incident happened.

Masonic first aiders

St John Ambulance works to ensure that anyone who requires first aid has access to it and the no one need suffer unneccessarily. To achieve these goals, St John trains around half a million people each year, including many of those who are members of the Freemasons.

Over 450 Freemasons have now been trained by St John Ambulance Humberside in Emergency First Aid and AED skills throughout both Provinces of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, North and East Ridings in a drive to bring essential first aid skills into the wider community through Freemasonry – an initiative which has received the unstinting support of both Provincial Grand Masters.