FORT GRATIOT (Aug. 19, 2025) – The American Red Cross today honored Fort Gratiot firefighters Chandler Martin and Mark Smith with a Lifesaving Award for performing CPR that helped saved the life of a local resident who went into cardiac arrest in his home in February.

Martin and Smith each received the American Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action. The award included a lapel pin.

“I am thrilled to honor firefighters Chandler Martin and Mark Smith for their heroic actions,” Brian Chambers, chief operating officer of  the Red Cross Michigan Region, said at an award presentation Tuesday. “Your lifesaving action exemplifies the mission of the Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.”

The lifesaving event for which Martin and Smith were recognized for occurred on Feb. 18  in Fort Gratiot, about 65 miles northeast of Detroit.

Martin and Smith responded to a 911 call to the home of a Fort Gratiot resident and local physician who was experiencing mild chest pain radiating in his left arm and jaw. After being triaged by Martin and Smith, and by EMS who had just arrived, the resident was put on a stretcher and wheeled outside.

Once outside, the resident went into cardiac arrest. Martin and Smith then performed chest compressions on the resident as he was led to and lifted into the ambulance.

Both Martin and Smith accompanied the resident in the ambulance and assisted EMS with performing CPR while enroute to the hospital.

The resident had a full recovery and is doing well today.

Smith, a lifelong resident of Fort Gratiot who has served as a firefighter in his community for 44 years, had one message for the community at large.

“It’s not too late to learn CPR through the Red Cross. It saves lives,” he said. “We don’t do this for awards, but this is the greatest award you could get . . . this feels like winning the lottery.”

Martin thanked the EMS medics who worked alongside them and said, “I’m not a hero. I’m just a firefighter.”

Fort Gratiot Fire Chief Mark VanderFeyst, said Martin and Smith actions were “an example of what the Fort Gratiot Fire Department does.”

“We serve the community," he said. "We are here as public servants. Our job is to serve the people.” 

The Red Cross National Lifesaving Awards is a program dating back to 1911 that recognizes those who – in a time of an emergency – used their lifesaving skills or knowledge to save or sustain a life. The program consists of three awards, the Certificate of Merit, the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders, and the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action.

These awards and their recipients embody the spirit and mission of the Red Cross by using action to alleviate human suffering in the face of an emergency.

Since 2018, the Red Cross has honored more than 3,200 individuals worldwide. Their heroism has helped save more than 1,600 lives.

The Red Cross has been creating courses and training people in first aid and CPR for more than 100 years. Red Cross training provides the skills and confidence to act in an emergency. For those interested in lifesaving courses, visit redcross.org/TakeAClass.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:   Sydney Henry / sydney.henry@redcross.org / 313-439-4304                                                                                       

About the American Red Cross:  
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.