For the second time in his career, Marvin Enoe, Tree Climber Supervisor with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Ohio Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program, was in the right place at the right time. While driving for work, Enoe stopped to deliver life-saving aid to a tractor trailer driver lying on the side of the highway.
“Myself and four other drivers pulled over to help,” Enoe said. “Together we took turns providing chest compressions for about 30 minutes. Since no one had a disposable CPR mask, we couldn’t safely provide rescue breathing but we kept the man alive until emergency medical services (EMS) arrived and took over.”
At the scene, EMS personnel used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to shock the man multiple times before transporting him to a nearby hospital. Enoe credits the CPR courses USDA offers and tree climber rescue drills for his lifesaving knowhow. He takes a refresher course every two years to maintain his CPR certification and every month his climbing crew stages a mock emergency rescue to keep their skills sharp.
Four years earlier while driving to inspect a tree, Enoe’s life-saving skills were tested then too. He and Tree Climber Treavor Fry arrived moments after an elderly woman lost control and flipped her car—she was pinned inside. Together they used their tree climbing ropes and equipment to secure and stabilize the vehicle so emergency medical services and fire rescue could use the jaws-of-life to free the woman and treat her injuries.
