It was a proud day for the City of Warwick, and particularly the Warwick Fire Department.

On Monday, October 24th, Station One’s 2nd floor conference room was filled with city officials, the statewide press and the Fire Department’s Command Staff when Mayor Frank Picozzi read a proclamation congratulating Fire Department Captain Andrew Sisson for “heroic and life saving efforts helping a person in distress while off duty on Saturday, October 15th.”

“It’s one of those days when the whole City can come together and shout out loud “job well done,” said Picozzi.

As Fire Chief Peter McMichael simply put it “at the end of the day, someone is walking around today because of his actions.”

Sisson, a 14-year veteran, grew up in the Lakewood section of Warwick and attended Veterans Memorial High School, graduating in 2005 (he later attended CCRI). He has been surfing since he was a baby (well not really surfing on his own then, but definitely in the hands of his dad, who used to take him surfing on his long board when he was a baby).

On Oct. 15 Andy was meeting a friend to surf in Little Compton.

The first spot he visited had some shifting winds, so he decided to try another spot. (Andy knowns the area well, as he has spent summers there with his family his whole life).

As he drove up to beach parking, he noticed a guy some 150 feet or so out to sea pulling another man into shore.

Andy jumped out of his truck and immediately rushed to help.

On that day, the waves were unusually large, sweeping you sideways as you tried to navigate them, Andy explained.

When Andy reached the men, who were now in waist deep water, he thought that the person rescuing the other had to be exhausted.

He was right, as the rescuer passed the distressed person off to Andy.

Andy picked him up and was joined by two other people who carried him to the parking lot

where he was breathing but in a very distressed state. Andy figured the man had to be in his 50s.

At this point a Registered Nurse, who happened to be visiting from Hawaii, joined Andy and both of them checked for a pulse. They did not feel one.

While Andy started chest compressions, the nurse maintained his airway.

Andy then asked a concerned bystander to set the timer on his phone to 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes expired, he checked the pulse again. Again, there was none.

Andy and the nurse then switched positions, with the nurse doing chest compressions and Andy maintaining the airway.

After about a minute of compression, the Little Compton Fire Department Rescue arrived. Andy quickly went to the truck, identified himself, and informed them that the subject was breathing but had no pulse and believed he was in “v-fib” (ventricular fibrillation).

Andy and a member of the Little Compton department then cut off the man’s wet suit, so that Little Compton FD could put the monitor pads on his chest. He was definitely in v-fib, so they started defibrillating.

Fortunately, man’s pulse returned, but it lasted for only about 5 minutes, short of the 10-minute time frame necessary to carefully move him.

After a second defibrillation, the pulse lasted for 10 minutes so they immediately transported the man to Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River.

Thankfully, the man would recover completely, and was sent home.

So what did Andy do after his heroic actions?

“I grabbed my surfboard and hopped into the water. It was a great day due to the good surf and the high you get when you help someone out!” He surfed for 3 hours.

Andy seemed a little uncomfortable with all the praise heaped on him by the Mayor, Council Members Ladouceur, Foley and McElroy who were in attendance, as well as Representative Vella-Wilkinson and the Fire Department Command staff, including Chief McMichael and Deputy Chief Cobb.

He credited everyone but himself.

But this was a day to celebrate his saving a man’s life.

As Chief McMichael put it “Captain Sisson brought great credit upon the Department and himself by doing what the Warwick Fire Department does every day …. not only when they’re in uniform but when they are off duty as well.”

Mayor Picozzi concluded the event by saying “the Warwick Fire Department is a great source of pride and comfort to our residents. This just reinforces it.”