A plumber's heart stopped in a client's kitchen. He's sharing his story of how a CPR class saved his life

A plumber's heart stopped in a client's kitchen. He's sharing his story of how a CPR class saved his life

A master plumber in Decatur asked his entire company to take a CPR class after two men he knew suffered cardiac arrests. Weeks later, he went down.

DECATUR, Ga. — A CPR class taken by two plumbers came in handy for the pair when one of them experienced a health emergency while out on the job.

Master Plumber Scott Carter is always on call for a quick fix. But three weeks ago, he was the one who needed fixing. His heart stopped when he was working in a client's kitchen.

 "Mine just stopped. Said, hey, 'I ain't working no more and just stopped," he said.

Plumber Ryan Frazier was there when the terrifying moment happened and jumped into action. He started CPR.

"I just laid his head gently back on the floor. I said, 'Scott, Scott, Scott!' Checked for a pulse -- there was no pulse," Frazier said.

He started CPR. He said he knew Carter's heart had stopped -- it was something he learned about in a CPR class that Carter made him go to just weeks before the cardiac arrest.

Carter had signed everyone in his company up for a class at a local fire station after witnessing someone else go down.

"You really don't know you need it until something happens. Most people think they don't really need CPR until something happens right in front of them," said Decatur Fire Chief Toni Washington. 

Decatur City firefighters responded in just minutes and used the AED to shock Carter's heart. They credit Frazier's quick work with keeping Carter alive.

Carter said he signed himself and his employees up for the class assuming they would be prepared to help someone else. He never guessed the life he would save by taking it would be his own.

"The chances of me sitting here today, if I had not taken that class, are so slim," said Carter.

He was prepared for his own emergency -- and so was Frazier.

"I feel very grateful, very grateful that he made me go to the class and that God was with me," Frazier said.