Oceanport honors lifesavers

By Neil Schulman
Oceanport — Members of the Oceanport Police Department, First Aid Squad, Fire Department and Public Works Department worked together to revive a person whose heart had stopped during a blizzard.

The Feb. 19 Borough Council meeting opened with a special presentation to the people who had saved the resident’s life, and those who made the rescue possible.
On Jan. 23, during the storm which left more than 20 inches of snow in the area, Oceanport first responders received a call that a man at a Comanche Drive residence was having difficulty breathing. While on the way there, they were told that the man had stopped breathing altogether.

Officers Matthew Cole and William Resnyk, along with Hook and Ladder Co.’s Jerry Bertekap, administered CPR and used a defibrillator to revive the man. He was then transported to Monmouth Medical Center.

While those three were given special recognition, about 20 others were also acknowledged for the role they had in the lifesaving operation, including Stuart Briskey, a volunteer fireman and current Borough Councilman.

“When that call came in, we were in snow storm mode,” Briskey said. The First Aid Squad, Fire Department and Public Works buildings all had people staying there, ready to get out in case of a call. A plow was kept ready, if first responders needed to get somewhere still snowed in.

“That day, everything worked,” Briskey said.

Briskey said that while it was a team effort, he wanted to give special thanks to Bertekap, a former council member.
“Jerry’s the one who took charge and saved that gentleman’s life.”

Some of the people on call during the blizzard who helped coordinate the lifesaving effort.

Officers Matthew Cole and William Resnyk, along with Jerry Bertekap, are commended for their lifesaving efforts during the January storm, where they revived a man who had stopped breathing.