Firefighter to be honored for life-saving efforts

Published 11:24 am Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Puget Sound Fire will honor firefighter Kent Knight for his role in saving a life while off duty.

On Oct. 7, Knight attended a charity basketball tournament at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley when a spectator went into cardiac arrest. Knight, along with several other firefighters who were attending the game, began performing CPR on the patient, according to a Puget Sound Fire media release. Using the school’s automatic external defibrillator, the off-duty rescuers administered a shock to the patient’s heart while continuing to perform CPR.

Shortly after that, firefighters from the Maple Valley Fire Department and King County paramedics arrived and took over the patient’s care. The patient was transported to a local hospital and has since been released back home.

While performing CPR is a common event for on-duty firefighters, being able to help save a life when not working is rarer.

The event that the off-duty firefighters were attending was for 4-month old Lola Boyer. Lola is the granddaughter of Mike Boyer, a Renton Regional Fire Authority firefighter. The 3-on-3 charity tournament helped raise money to support Lola, who has two congenital heart issues.

Puget Sound Fire will honor Knight at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Fire Station 78 in Covington.