The North Strand crew, Peter Keating is pictured standing in a white shirt in the centre (Photo: Facebook/Dublin Fire Brigade)

A Dublin Fire Brigade crew sprang into action while off-duty at their Christmas party after they spotted a man suffering a heart attack.

The North Strand crew travelled to Westport, Co Mayo on Friday to celebrate the festive season when they noticed the ill gentleman in the restaurant.

Recently retired District Officer Peter Keating said the crew were sitting down to their meal when they noticed the commotion.

It is understood the man was enjoying a family celebration when he went into cardiac arrest.

The officers immediately rushed to the man's aid and began to perform Basic Life Support and CPR on the man.

"My colleagues went straight into action and began CPR and started to clear his airways," Mr Keating told Independent.ie.

"We put him on the defibrillator and continued CPR, checking for the pulse and checking his airways until he started to respond."

National Ambulance crew from Castlebar arrived on the scene where the Dublin Fire Brigade team completed a full hand-over of the patient.

"I was speaking to the ambulance control and I gave them all the information they needed, we went through all the protocol," Mr Keating continued.

"The hotel staff did everything they could, they had some basic First Aid equipment we were able to use as well.

"They were very good, considering they had no experience in that kind of thing."

The crew are being praised online for their heroic actions, but Mr Keating said it is "just what we do".

"It's just part of the job and we just happened to be there.

"The key thing was the speed, we were straight on him which makes the difference."

The official Dublin fire Brigade Facebook wrote about the incident online, saying: "You can take the man out of the DFB, but you can't take the DFB out of the man."

Dublin Fire Brigade said they are unaware of the current condition of the gentleman but "wish the very best to him, his family and friends at this time".

Others have taken to the crew's Facebook page to thank them for their work.

"Lucky man to have such expertise right there next to him. Well done to all the life savers in DFB," one person wrote online.

Another wrote: "Well done everyone. None of us are off duty. Always be prepared for anything".

Off-duty members of B watch sprung in to action on Friday night slightly out of area. It's not unusual for crews to... Posted by Dublin Fire Brigade on Sunday, 29 November 2015

Online Editors