Municipal guards fought for nearly an hour to resuscitate a severely hypothermic man found unconscious in Warsaw.
Discovery of Unconscious Man
On Wednesday, January 14, at approximately 20:55, municipal guards from the VII District arrived at the scene of a dramatic emergency in the Wawer district. A reporting person had spotted a man lying in the street who was not moving. When the guards arrived, they found a chilling sight: an approximately 40-year-old man was hanging lifelessly from a plastic sandbox, with his head drooping downward. He showed no signs of life, with a cold body, no breathing, and no pulse.
Life-Saving Efforts
The guards heard from the reporting person that paramedics “already knew.” They requested urgent assistance by radio and immediately began resuscitation. “We knew that in hypothermia, vital functions are difficult to detect,” said Junior Inspector Jacek Szostakiewicz, one of the municipal guards who participated in the intervention. “We quickly took a defibrillator from the patrol car and immediately began resuscitation.”
For over 20 minutes, before paramedics took over, the municipal guards performed chest compressions in rotation, following the device’s instructions. “These were minutes that felt like an eternity,” recounts the second officer who took turns with the rescued man.
Medical Emergency Response
Soon an ambulance arrived at the scene. The officers helped transport the man to the ambulance, where he was connected to professional diagnostic equipment and resuscitation continued using a mechanical chest compression system. The victim was in a state of deep hypothermia – his body temperature was 26.5°C. After several dozen minutes, the approximately 40-year-old man was taken to the hospital. The circumstances of this dramatic incident will be investigated by police.
Enhanced Emergency Capabilities
There are 140 officers in the Warsaw municipal guard with rescue qualifications. For just over a month, municipal guards have been using 100 portable AED defibrillators purchased as part of the citizen budget implementation. All officers are prepared to use them through regular first aid training.