BOULDER, Montana — Five Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office personnel were honored after two separate CPR emergencies in May, including a home heart-attack response and a 911 call involving a newborn who was having trouble breathing.
According to The Monitor in Jefferson County, deputies David Lake and Charles Renfro reached a Boulder home within about two minutes on May 27 after Cory Colella called 911 for his father, Tom Colella, who was unresponsive.
Deputies and detention staff moved fast
The Monitor reported that Lake and Renfro began chest compressions, and that detention officer Bre Fisher and jail commander Mike Hecht joined shortly afterward to help. The outlet reported that Tom Colella, 70, survived after the fast response and compressions.
Molly Carey, who leads Boulder’s volunteer ambulance service, told The Monitor that CPR saves are rare in her experience and stressed how quickly survival odds fall when a stopped heart goes without CPR.
Dispatcher coached CPR over the phone
The Sheriff’s Office also recognized dispatcher Ashley Sullivan, according to The Monitor. Sullivan took a May 5 call about a three-week-old Whitehall baby who was having trouble breathing and coached the caller through CPR.
ThinBlueNews is not identifying the infant or adding medical details beyond the public report. The source story described Sullivan’s role as a lifesaving action handled from the dispatch console, with Sheriff Tom Grimsrud noting that dispatchers can make things happen through a telephone line before responders arrive.
A public thank-you at the award ceremony
The Monitor reported that Tom Colella and his wife, Deborah Colella, attended the life-saver award ceremony at the County Clerk and Recorder’s Office to thank the personnel involved. Deborah Colella told the outlet she was grateful they were in a small town where help could arrive quickly.
“Being surrounded by staff who immediately go above and beyond the call of duty is a true blessing,” Sheriff Grimsrud said at the ceremony, according to The Monitor.
Why this story matters
The Jefferson County awards are a useful reminder that public safety is often a chain: a family member calls 911, a dispatcher gives lifesaving instructions, deputies and detention staff start CPR, ambulance crews continue care, and a small-town response can change the outcome.
Sources reviewed
- The Monitor: Sheriff’s Office honors five life-saving personnel
- JC Monitor source photo used for the featured image
Editorial note: ThinBlueNews used The Monitor’s source-backed reporting and real award-ceremony photo, attributed the source image directly, avoided AI rescue imagery and kept infant/medical details limited to information already published by the source.