When Sarah Malone attended one of Kent Fire and Rescue Service’ CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and defibrillator training sessions last year, she never expected to have to use the skills she learnt in real life.  

Yet on 6 March, Sarah found herself - along with firefighters from Grain on-call station - battling to save the life of then 15-year-old Grace Yates.

After a day at school preparing for her GCSEs, Grace had spent the evening with her friends. She was on the playing fields close to her home when she collapsed.

Her friends raced to get her home and alert her mum, Clare. She said: “I was sitting indoors, it was a normal Wednesday evening, and then Grace’s friend knocked on window and said Grace had collapsed on the field. I thought she's probably fallen over, twisted her ankle or something, so I didn't think much of it.

“When I go there, she was half in a bush and all I could see was her boots, legs and a coat. I looked at her and knew something wasn’t right, her eyes were open, but literally there was nothing.

‘There’s a voice in your head tells you she's not breathing, but you want reassurance.’

“I phoned 999 and told them she wasn't breathing. I remember speaking to the lady and I panicked. I got hysterical. Then the next thing I remember was our nearby neighbour, Sarah, running past me and she grabbed my phone.”

Sarah had also been at home that evening when she got a call from her son, Kavan, who was with Grace and knew his mum had recently attended CPR training at the fire station.

Sarah said: “Straight away he said, ‘Mum you’ve got to come. Grace has collapsed.’

“I ran there, and Grace was laying on her side. I tapped her cheek and called her name, thinking she’s just passed out, but she was completely unresponsive. There was a voice in my head telling me ‘she's not breathing’, but I wanted that reassurance. In that moment you want someone else to tell you you’re right, but I had to make that decision.

“I rolled her over, gave her two breaths and I shouted out ‘I need a defib!”

Sarah immediately began doing CPR by which time her husband, Lee, was by her side. As she was doing compressions, she was on the phone to Tina Shepherd, an emergency medical advisor coach at South East Coast Ambulance Service, who was guiding her through the actions.

Tina says Sarah’s prior CPR training made all the difference: “Sarah listened to everything I asked her to do. She was carrying out and performing the instructions, which made a significant difference because Grace is alive.

“In those situations, we need people to listen to, take on board, and carry out the instructions we're giving them. Sarah was an absolute dream, she did really, really well, and should be so impressed with herself.”

As Sarah started getting tired, Lee took over CPR.

Clare (Grace’s mum) said: “I remember looking at Sarah and Lee doing chest compressions, and it hit me exactly how serious it was. It hadn’t registered until exactly that point and then I felt physically ill.”

Sarah then called Paul, a local on-call firefighter who she knew, to get the defibrillator from Grain fire station.  

The Grain crew were at their weekly drill night at the station so were able to get to the scene very quickly with the defib.

Paul said: “We were in the station office going through our monthly training, when my phone rang and then I had a voice screaming at me that they needed the defib - we ran straight out the door.”

It said ‘Shock advised’ and everything went silent…

Along with Ollie, Dan and Mark, also on-call firefighters at Grain, they raced to the scene with the defib.

Sarah added: “I remember Paul landing between us with the defib and he started unpacking it. We cut through the clothing, and we got the pads on and the machine did it’s calculating, and it said, ‘shock advised’ and everything went silent.

“It shocked her, then we stepped back and let the firefighters carry on. After the firefighters did the shock, she started to resist and started to gasp for breath, so we knew she was coming back.”

She continued: “I don’t think we’d have got her back without the defibrillator, that restarted her heart. We’d done a few rounds of CPR ourselves and we were keeping her alive I guess but we didn’t get any response until after the shock. That defib really did save her life.”

Crews continued CPR until paramedics arrived and took her to Kings College Hospital in London. Doctor’s discovered scarring on the left ventricle of Grace’s heart which they believe is what may have caused her to collapse.

She was in a coma for four days and has now been diagnosed with a rare medical condition – a mutation of the RYR2 gene – and is still under medical supervision. Her family is also undergoing genetic testing.

Grace doesn’t remember the night at all, but says she is thankful for Sarah and the emergency services who saved her life.

Grace has since attended a CPR and defibrillator session at the fire station to learn how to do it herself.

Grace said: “I’m still feeling the effects of that night.  

“At first, I didn’t want to do the training as I didn’t want to know what happened to me, but my friend and mum came with me for support. I did find CPR tricky to do but I tried my best and now I know what to do so I could help someone

“With what happened to me, I’m so thankful that Sarah had done the CPR session because I don’t think anyone else would have been able to. Anyone who has the opportunity to learn how to do CPR and how to use a defib, you could save someone like me.”  

The crew at Grain is keen for more people in the area attend the CPR and defibrillator sessions and to raise awareness that there are public access defibrillators at all KFRS fire stations.

Firefighter Dan said: “Sarah credits that training session giving her the confidence to step up and take control of the situation, which she did incredibly well.

“We’ve got two defibrillators in Grain village and we feel it’s important that everyone in the village who wants training, can come and learn.”

Ollie, Watch Manager at Grain, added: “So many things lined up for Grace that night and contributed to her getting the care she needed, fast – she was very lucky that night.

“If there’s ever an advocate or an advert for our community training sessions being worthwhile, Sarah’s the proof in the pudding!.”

CPR and Defibrillator sessions:

James Lang, Immediate Emergency Care Trainer at KFRS, hosts sessions across the county – including the one Sarah attended at Grain.

He said: “It’s the best feeling in the world as an instructor to know that someone you’ve taught has benefited and saved somebody’s life. It’s absolutely amazing.”

The upcoming sessions are: 

• 17 Oct – Tonbridge
• 4 Nov – Ramsgate
• 6 Nov – Sevenoaks
• 11 Nov – Edenbridge
• 21 Nov – Dartford

Every fire station in Kent and Medway has a defibrillator available for public use.