Lieutenant Paul Delaney says he was “in the right place at the right time and glad to help” while vacationing last week on an Eastham beach when he and a doctor performed CPR on a 40-year-old woman who had gone into cardiac arrest. Delaney also used a defibrillator, handed to him by a police officer, to revive the woman by the time a fire ambulance arrived on the scene.

The woman is now alert and expected to recover fully, and her husband was planning to reach out to Lt. Delaney to express his family’s gratitude.

Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie, whose counterpart in Eastham shared his thanks for Delaney’s efforts, in turn shared his thoughts on Delaney with the Wellesley Board of Selectmen and executive director. DeLorie described Delaney as “a humble person” and that his actions “reflect the best of public safety personnel willingness to get involved in coming to the aid of others. I’m proud of Paul, all the good work he does in his life, and recognize how fortunate we are to have him as a fire officer and a resident in our community.”

Delaney, incidentally, regularly provides CPR training for Town Hall employees.

Sounds to us like Lt. Delaney deserves at least 1 extra day of vacation for his off-duty efforts, though he naturally accepts the 24/7 nature of his calling. Meanwhile, we weren’t about to bother him for any additional details until after he returns to work.

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