A Dawn-Euphemia firefighter is being applauded after saving a life while out on a date with his wife.

Captain John Sanderson says Firefighter Jeff Wernham was out on a date in Chatham with his wife, Amber, when a man who was eating at the same restaurant had a medical emergency.

Wernham saw the man was choking and used the skills he learned as a firefighter to revive the man.

Sanderson says without Wernham’s help, the man likely would not have survived.

“We are proud of Jeff and his dedication,” says Sanderson in a social media post.

“We are fortunate to have a membership which is vested in public safety and dedicated to duty. This is most certainly the case as it applies to firefighter Wernham. 

“Part of this success is that we as a department have significant attention to medical aid training. Not that we are paramedics but, compared to many departments we do undertake medical aid training more frequently,” Sanderson added. 

This is the second time this year a Dawn-Euphemia firefighter stepped up to help on his personal time.