In a critical moment during Saturday's Riverbank Run, bystander CPR proved instrumental in assisting Missoula Fire Department crews. At approximately 11:30 AM, MFD crews responded to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation in progress on Higgins Ave. A-Shift’s Station 4 crew was first to arrive on the scene, where they found an adult male lying on his back on the bridge, with bystander CPR already underway. Shortly after, MFD’s Station 1 crew arrived on the scene.
The patient, participating in the Missoula Riverbank Run, was on their third race when the medical emergency occurred. Bystander CPR was initiated immediately after witnesses observed the patient collapse. Among the bystanders performing CPR was off-duty firefighter, Taylor Blakely, with Missoula Rural Fire District.