Members of the Elysian Fire Department were honored Monday, February 2 by the South-Central Minnesota EMS Regional System for their efforts in helping save a local man’s life in November of 2025.
Mark Griffith, Director of the South-Central Minnesota EMS, presented nine Elysian Fire Fighters and two members of the Allina EMS out of St. Peter with certificates during the fire departments meeting.
McKenzie Bonogofsky, Brent Kavitz, Brian Rutt, Tyrel Wendt, Tonya Sturdivant, Patrick Ely, Pam Glende, Aaron Johnson, and Greg Lamont were responders to a medical emergency at the the Loren “Curly” Schwartz residence in rural Elysian November 16, 2025.
The responders were notified of a victim suffering from chest pain, who ended up being Schwartz in the midst of having a heart attack.
Within minutes, personnel arrived to find Schwartz showing signs of cardiac distress, and after rapidly assessing Schwartz, implemented their cardiac protocols to begin addressing his condition.
Shortly after arrival of the transporting ambulance, Schwartz went into cardiac arrest, and the responders quickly transitioned to providing effective CPR, including deploying an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), placing a LUCAS...
To see more on this story pick up the February 5, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.