Local fire chief saved by daughter, American Heart Association encourages 'hands-only' CPR

Nov. 25, 2024 was both the luckiest and unluckiest day of Chris Jozwik's life.

The Johnstown Township Fire chief had just finishing feeding wood into his outdoor furnace when he walked into his living room, sat down and lost consciousness.

"I had stopped breathing," Jozwik said. "I wasn’t breathing.”

His wife immediately called for help, and within minutes there was a familiar face at the door.

Jozwik's daughter, Julie Powell, and her husband, -- both firefighters and EMTs with Johnstown Township -- were the first responders to, what was now, a family medical emergency.

“When we pulled in, the garage door was open. The door to get in the house was open and I knew it was bad," Powell said.

Chest compressions kept Jozwik stabilized until more members of his own department responded and strapped him into an auto pulse machine for transport.

He was rushed to a hospital where he remained in intensive care for 11 days.

It was touch-and-go for most of that time.

"The conversations I was having with him the whole time; it was like, 'come on, Dad!'" Powell said.

His family, friends and co-workers were all relieved when he finally came to.

“This is going to sound silly," Jozwik said. "But the first thing I remember was trying to find the Lions football game that was on Amazon because that's what I wanted to watch."

Months of physical therapy and rehab would follow, but Jozwik is finally back in good health and back on the job.

Jozwik has now has joined forces with the Kalamazoo branch of the American Heart Association to share a message about the importance of what's called "hands-only" CPR.

“Hands-only CPR is equally as effective as compressions done alongside breaths," Caleb Porter, of the American Heart Association, said. "That messaging of CPR being so essential to the fact that Chief Jozwik is still here today.”

Porter says no longer is rescue breathing required to stabilize someone in cardiac arrest.

Simple, rapid-chest compressions of two inches deep on the chest plate, 100-120 times per minute is enough to keep someone breathing and keep their heart beating until paramedics arrive.

“Really, anyone can do this life-saving measure," Porter said.

“If it wasn’t for what this fire department did and the care I had, I probably wouldn’t be here today to talk to you," Jozwik said.

Jozwik will be speaking about his life-saving experience at the 2025 Kalamazoo "Heart Walk" on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m. at Homer Stryker Field.