It took a quick-to-respond crew of firefighters and a CPR-trained neighbor to save a man’s life.

Warwick resident Thomas McKenna lived to thank the Warwick Fire Department for their successful resuscitation. Eight firefighters were presented with citations from Mayor Picozzi on Monday for their life-saving measures at the station on Veterans Memorial Drive.

McKenna went into cardiac arrest in his home around 7:30 p.m. on May 9. Six minutes after the 911 call was made, Warwick firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to save his life. According to McKenna’s daughter, Mary-Ann McCurry, McKenna went through “at least 45 minutes of CPR.”

“They train every day, constantly,” said Mayor Frank Picozzi about the Warwick Fire Department. “And that’s why they perform so well.”

When Thomas McKenna started to show signs of cardiac arrest, his wife, Mary, ran to their next-door neighbor’s home where retired nurse Patricia Stark lives, in hopes that she could help.

“Nothing would have happened without Mary’s immediate response,” said Stark, who also received a citation from Mayor Picozzi. Stark was the first person to perform CPR on McKenna. Rescue Lt. Matthew Wood took over when the first responders arrived.

“I have a wonderful neighbor, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Tom McKenna. He expressed his gratitude for Stark and the Warwick Fire Department.

At the award ceremony, Stark recalled how she was cooking broccoli when Mary McKenna came over asking for her help. She said that she never turned off the stove, and when she returned home the kitchen was filled with smoke. “I would’ve had to call [the fire department] again!” she said.

“Statistically there’s a low rate of success for bystander intervention CPR,” said Deputy Chief Gerard Bogossian. “This is proof that bystander CPR is a vital link in the chain of survival.”

Three fire department vehicles from two different stations arrived on the scene on May 9: Engine 2 and Ladder 2 from the Lakewood/Norwood station and Rescue 5 from the Natick/Pontiac station. According to Bogossian, this call involved “different players from different sides of the city who don’t normally work together.”

"At the end of the day, people are alive and walking around that may not have been, had we not been as committed as we are,” said Warwick Fire Department Chief Peter McMichael.

Firefighters honored at the ceremony were RLt. Matthew Wood, Pvt. Christopher Famiglietti, Lt. Ryan Dursin, Pvt. Jack Camus, Pvt. Bradford Ginaitt, Lt. Nicholas Myrtle, Pvt. Michael Cookson and Pvt. Christopher Zaino.

“They are heroes in our eyes and we want to thank them for their hard work,” said Bogossian.

“Thank you for your work and for not giving up on me,” McKenna said to the firefighters. “I’m lucky to be here today.” The McKenna family donated a Dave’s Marketplace gift card to each of the two stations involved.