A team of volunteer EMTs successfully resuscitated two individuals on Saturday in two separate incidents, both within a few hundred feet of each other in Jerusalem’s Sanhedria neighborhood.

The EMTs, members of United Hatzalah, Israel’s national volunteer emergency medical services (EMS) organization, arrived at both scenes in under two minutes of receiving the emergency calls.

The first incident occurred on Saturday morning when an elderly man was found unconscious in his Jerusalem apartment. United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs Duvie Bronstein, Yossi Roth, and Gershon Genauer arrived at the scene in under two minutes and initiated CPR and cleared the patient’s airway using a suction device. After approximately 30 minutes of coordinated efforts, including the arrival of an intensive care ambulance crew, the man’s pulse was restored. He was then transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

Later that day, the same EMTs responded to another cardiac arrest at a nearby facility for individuals with special needs. A 20-year-old patient with epilepsy had gone into cardiac arrest. After about 20 minutes of CPR, and with the assistance of an intensive care ambulance crew, the young man’s pulse was successfully restored.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Bronstein described the day’s events as “nothing short of incredible.” 

“It’s an amazing feeling,” reflected Bronstein after the incident. “To perform CPR twice in the same day is very rare, but to be able to successfully restore a pulse both times is nothing short of incredible.” 

For Genauer, one of the responding EMTs, these incidents marked a significant milestone. “I’ve taken part in many CPRs before, but this is actually my first time seeing a pulse.”