The Butterfly Effect
UGI Inspector Jeremy Reed wasn’t scheduled to be at the site of a gas main replacement project in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. But when he was asked to fill in for another inspector, that small change, he said, was like the butterfly effect, putting him in exactly the right place to save a life.
It was a warm day, and as Reed began examining the work, he noticed a member of the contracted crew breathing heavily. “Are you OK?” asked Reed. “I’m OK,” the man replied. But a moment later, the worker collapsed inside the excavated area, falling so hard that his hard hat flew off.
Reed immediately jumped into the hole to help pull him out. “We noticed that he stopped breathing,” said Reed. “His chest wasn’t moving. I stuck my hand over his mouth and under his nose, and I couldn’t feel his breath.”
While another crew member called 911, Reed began giving the collapsed worker CPR—something he learned during a Red Cross class at UGI. “I did not think I’d ever have to use what I learned, but I ended up remembering everything and doing it,” Reed said. “When he collapsed, I did not have to think—I just did it.”
Reed worked on the man until paramedics arrived to take him to the emergency room. He found out later that the worker had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest—and survived thanks to Reed’s quick actions. While the man doesn’t remember anything from that day, he now knows Reed saved his life and wants to make sure Reed is recognized for it.
“I don’t think I am a hero,” Reed said. “I think anyone would have done the same thing. Somebody needed help, and it felt like it was the right thing to do.”