When an emergency medical call came across the scanner on a recent July morning, East Ellijay’s police chief knew time would be crucial to its outcome.
A woman wasn’t breathing at a home on Cherry Street, near the East Ellijay City Hall and Police Station. Chief Larry Callahan had just started the morning shift, and this was his first call of the day.
“I was early that morning, a little before 7. I scanned the fire and EMS calls, and I heard them dispatch it and say she wasn’t breathing. I knew I was going to be the closest because it’s just right there,” he said.
Callahan was first to arrive at the home, and found the woman with help from her daughter. Although there was a language barrier, the need for CPR was evident, he noted.
“Not all these calls are as bad as they sound, but this one was as bad as it sounded,” Callahan said. “It was apparent, right off, that she wasn’t breathing. There was no heartbeat or pulse.”
Callahan said he started performing CPR, and, since the woman was using an oxygen tank, he adjusted it to provide more air.
“I’ve just always been told the faster the better on starting CPR,” he said. A crew from Gilmer Fire and Rescue arrived quickly and took over, Callahan noted.
“I can’t say enough about the fire and EMS folks who came. They really did a good job, and it was amazing watching them work,” he added.
Battalion Chief Mike Dempsey, who was on the team that worked the call for Gilmer Fire and Rescue, confirmed the time in which CPR was started was critical in this situation.
“Time makes a huge difference in these cases. The quicker compressions can be started, the better chance that person is going to have. I can’t say enough about the job Chief Callahan did. He was right on top of it,” said Dempsey. “I always recommend to the public to find a CPR class, even if you’re not required to have it. At any time, it could (be used).”
Mayor Mack West commended Callahan’s lifesaving actions at last month’s meeting of the East Ellijay City Council.
“Without the efforts of Chief Callahan and the Gilmer Fire/EMS personnel who responded to this incident, I feel the outcome would have been a tragic one,” West said.
All East Ellijay Police officers, including Callahan, are certified in CPR. The department recently had a class led by Gene Hefner, a Gilmer County Deputy, that refreshed officers on the procedure, Callahan noted.
“We go through CPR in mandate the first day of training, but we’ve always tried to do a little extra,” he said.
Although they include no tools for CPR (which relies on physical activity), the Ellijay Police Department recently provided new emergency medical kits to its officers. The kits contain supplies like bandages and dressings that can help stop bleeding and treat minor injuries.
“Every patrol car has one, and we have one at City Hall,” Callahan said.
The name of the woman who received medical attention can’t be released due to HIPAA guidelines, according to Gilmer Fire and Rescue. The EMS department confirmed that she was transported to a local hospital. Callahan noted it was a cardiac event that caused the medical emergency.
“The good Lord just took care of her, and everything worked out as good as it could,” he said.
This was not the first lifesaving in the line of duty for Callahan, previously Ellijay’s police chief and East Ellijay’s assistant chief.
West remembered a 1992 wreck that occurred on Highway 515 shortly after Callahan began working for the police department. “An 18-wheeler overturned and slid all the way down to the vet clinic,” he said.
The overturned truck, a gasoline tanker, had caught fire. Responding to the accident, Callahan put out the fire and help the driver escape the truck before it exploded.
“Me and him were up under a gas tanker that was on fire, so it was either put the fire out or blow up,” Callahan remembered.
During flash flooding in 2013, Callahan was electrocuted by a power line that fell into the water. He and other emergency personnel had been working to evacuate homes near the rapidly rising Cartecay River.
The chief said he and his wife often say a prayer that asks God to allow them to help anybody they might be able to that particular day. On this recent July morning, he realized “when you pray that, you better mean it.”
“We’re here to help people, and I’m just glad I was able to do something to help,” Callahan said.