A FIREFIGHTER has had an emotional reunion with the team of medics who helped save his life.

Experienced firefighter Dean Wright, from Southend, was out on a job in Lower Road, Hockley on New Year’s Eve when he suffered a cardiac arrest and required emergency medical treatment.

Just after 7.30am, Dean left his wife and five sons asleep to head to Hawkwell Fire Station where he has worked on-call for 16 years.

The crew were dispatched to the fire in Hockley and arrived within minutes and Dean took on the role of laying out the hose - a physically challenging job.

He said: “I needed a bit of a breather. There were a couple of moments where I felt my chest hurt a little bit and I had shortness of breath, but I thought it was related to a chest infection I’d had a few weeks before.

“I carried on as normal and was setting up some equipment when I felt my eyes going in and out of focus. It was a surreal feeling, but the first thing I thought was ‘don’t faint in front of the guys’.”

Suddenly, Dean’s heart stopped and he went into cardiac arrest.

By pure chance, the ambulance service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) had been called to the fire and were metres away.

Chris Wilkinson, the team supervisor, said: “Seconds after I’d been speaking to one of the firefighters, I heard shouts to my left - ‘firefighter down.’

“I immediately saw Dean collapsed on his side, with his colleagues trying to help him.

“Our team had given him every chance and worked really well. It was fortunate in terms of where Dean was found, but from that point it really couldn’t have been executed any better.”

Following use of a defibrillator and CPR, Dean began breathing again and was accompanied by road to Basildon Hospital by the HART team and air ambulance staff, who had also arrived within minutes.

Dean was left counting his blessings after being released from hospital last month and has now begun his recovery.

He added: “I was incredibly lucky to have so many people in the right place at the right time, able to help me.

“The guys here at Hawkwell have been fantastic – so supportive. I still come down here once a week to be with them and chill out.

"It’s always been that kind of place; they’re my friends, we’re not just colleagues.

“I must say over the last couple of months I’ve often thought ‘why me?’ Doctors seem to think it was hereditary but also diet-related, as my cholesterol was high.

"Needless to say I’m changing my diet and not eating quite so many takeaways!

“I want to say a big thank you to the HART team. I’ll never, ever take them for granted at incidents we go to with them.

"It’s very difficult to quantify or put into words what they did: but they were there at the right time and did everything to bring me back.”

Dean got his chance to meet and greet the HART team, as well as the Air Ambulance crew who accompanied him, this week at an emotional event at Hawkwell Fire Station.