* RHP/firefighter Vince Perkins (Victoria, BC) is presented with the Phoenix award by the Bonita Springs Fire/Rescue Department after saving a man's life. .... Day VII with Team Canada, a win over Mexico

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By Bob Elliott

Remember right-hander Vince Perkins?

He started for Canada against Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic in Toronto?

Perkins, who recorded a save for the Jays in an 11-8 win over the Boston Red Sox in the spring of 2011 at Fort Myers, retired three games into the season at double-A New Hampshire.

Well, the Victoria, B.C. native is still saving ... except now it’s lives rather than ball games.

Now, a member of the Bonita Springs Fire/Rescue Department, near Fort Myers, Perkins revived a 50-year-old man from a cardiac arrest.

He was presented the Phoenix award by his chief with the man and his wife present at the ceremony.

Three firefighters were be honored for saving the lives of three Bonita Springs residents who went into cardiac arrest at Fire Station Four, 27701 Bonita Grande Drive, with the district’s most prestigious honor.

Someone phoned 911 immediately and a neighbor was performing CPR when the fighter/paramedics arrived on scene.

The call came Jan. 8 and firefighters on Engine 22 were dispatched to a home where they found the patient unconscious and without a pulse or heartbeat.

They initiated CPR and defibrillation and used a King Vision and ET Tube to assist the patient with an airway. The King Vision and ET Tube is an airway management device used by Bonita Springs’ firefighters, which is intubated into the mouth of the patient when ventilation is necessary for oxygen replacement into the body.

On this call was Perkins, a new recruit and probationary firefighter. After serving on shift for only a month, Perkins performed advanced life support techniques in this emergency. His actions and the actions of Lt. Richie Scott and Firefighter Mike Koshlap saved the patient’s life.

To recognize the dedication and skill of emergency responders, Bonita Springs Fire-Rescue adopted the Phoenix award after implementing advanced life support services in March 1999. The Phoenix is recognized as a symbol of excellence and also a mythical bird, said to rise again from its ashes.

This is indeed a more important save.