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Sam Herr (front, second from right) and his wife Pam are pictured with members of the Valley Center Fire Department.

Thankful to be alive
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: November 23, 2022

Sam Herr is fuzzy on the details, but he's sure of one thing: The Valley Center Fire Department saved his life.

"I had several people at the hospital — nurses and doctors — say I was very lucky to be alive, and that the quick response prevented me from hopefully having any permanent damage," the 71-year-old Valley Center man said. "Another minute or two without my heart beating and breathing, I could be a vegetable or be dead."

Herr took his gratitude to the fire station last week, hiring a company to cater a barbecue meal for the firefighters.

"All I want to do is say thank you and how much I appreciate their work," Herr said. "I feel like the only reason I'm on this earth right now is God was taking care of me and the firemen were taking care of me."

On Oct. 3, Herr was getting ready to leave for the day. The retired grain merchant, who was in law enforcement for nearly seven years, had been working odd jobs as a handyman in retirement.

Before leaving his duplex in the 100 block of North Sheridan, Herr fixed some frozen pizza rolls in the microwave.

"The first one I popped down stuck in my throat," Herr said. "I tried to cough it up and couldn't."

Herr's wife, Pam, came to the kitchen and saw he was choking. She called 911. Herr collapsed onto the floor.

It was 7:30 a.m.

"Basically, I quit breathing and my heart quit," Herr said.

Two firefighters showed up in minutes.

On the truck were Ben English and longtime Chief Lonnie Tormey.

"He was on the floor," Tormey said. "I could hear him gasping and trying to clear his throat. His wife said he was choking."

The firefighters tried abdominal thrusts, which didn't work. They looked into Herr's mouth and didn't see anything blocking his airway.

"He quit breathing and had no pulse," Tormey said. "We started CPR and got him on oxygen and were breathing for him."

A second truck with firefighters Caleb Rains and Chad Tormey arrived on the scene.

Minutes later, an EMS crew from the station at 53rd and I-135 arrived.

After 20 or 30 compressions, Tormey said, Herr began to breath on his own and his pulse returned.

EMS intubated Herr and he was loaded onto an ambulance.

Herr woke up in Wesley Hospital, where he spent 18 days in the intensive care unit.

Herr was eventually diagnosed with bone spurs that were pressing against his esophagus and preventing food from passing.

He underwent throat surgery and will be in physical therapy for a couple of months to re-train his esophagus.

"I don't know a whole lot of what happened," Herr said. "… I had a lot of people at the hospital say I was lucky to be with them."

Tormey said he hadn't heard about Herr's outcome until Herr walked into the station one recent day.

"He surprised me. I was really surprised," Tormey said. "This was a great outcome. You never know when this is going to happen. You just do your training and that's when it pays off."

Tormey said he didn't expect to receive such a gracious thank you.

"It's overwhelming," he said.





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