Long Beach first responders revive unresponsive man in the water

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A Long Beach firefighter rushed to Tennessee Avenue beach at around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 after the Fire Department received an alert for an unresponsive man floating in the water, fire officials said.

Firefighter Justin Fitzmartin, who lives on Tennessee Avenue, ran directly from his home to the beach and pulled the man from the water, Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins said.

Fitzmartin discovered that the man did not have a pulse and began performing CPR. Long Beach police officer Michael Corbett arrived on the scene and assisted Fitzmartin with the rescue effort.

After completing two rounds of CPR, Fitzmartin and Corbett successfully revived the victim, fire officials said. Additional firefighters and police officers arrived on the scene and the victim was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital’s Long Beach Emergency Department in critical condition.

Kemins said police were investigating why the man was in the water, and commended Fitzmartin and Corbett on their successful rescue efforts.

“Great job to firefighter Fitzmartin and all other responders on giving the patient a fighting chance at life!” the Fire Department posted on their Facebook page.

“I thought maybe I could make it down there, and if it was anything, I can help out and make a difference before the uniform firefighters and EMTs, paramedics got on scene,” Fitzmartin told News 12 last week. “A hero is a sandwich in a deli. I’m just a regular person trying to do a job.”