Yonkers man thanks emergency workers who saved him from heart attack

YONKERS, New York (WABC) -- Statistically speaking, Mike Cipullo should be dead, but on Friday, he was thanking the first responders who saved his life.

"They love what they do," said Cipullo, a heart attack survivor. "They care."

On Feb. 11, Cipullo was at the Irish Mini-Mart on McLean Avenue in Yonkers when he suffered a massive heart attack.

"Without them, I wouldn't be here," he said.

Yonkers Engine 313 responded, but Cipullo had no pulse so firefighters shocked his heart with a defibrillator, then attached a device to administer chest compressions. Paramedics from took him to the hospital.

"Just clicks in, we all knew what we had to do and we got it done quick. I'm just thankful to see him here," said Jonathan Braun, of the Yonkers Fire Department.

Despite spending a week in a medically induced coma, Cipullo said he feels fine aside from some weakness, and recently celebrated his 52nd birthday.

"I told them I loved them because, you know what, they love what they do, they have a passion for what think do, and they care," Cipullo said. "They told my family that there's a good chance of brain damage, and all because the gentlemen of the fire department got there so quick, no damage whatsoever."

Although it is a normal part of the workday for emergency workers, the firefighters are grateful they could save Cipullo.

"It's a great feeling for us, you know, obviously it's a great feeling for him," said Lt. Thomas Hewitt.

For the first responders, it might have been another day at the office, but for Mike, it was a wake up call. He no longer smokes a pack and a half a day as he enjoys his new lease on life.