By Daniel Guy
The Cleveland Daily Banner
The Cawood family sits at the front of the meeting area on May 9 during a meet-and-greet event at the Bradley County Fire Rescue headquarters. From left are Michael Cawood, Nolan Cawood, Lindsey Cawood and Donna Cawood.
— Photo by Daniel Guy, The Cleveland Daily Banner
CLEVELAND — An unbelievable three-minute response time to a structure fire led to an uplifting reunion recently when first responders met face-to-face with Lindsey Cawood, a 25-year-old Cleveland woman who was saved from a house fire through their efforts.
A few weeks ago, Lindsey Cawood returned to her family’s home on Tasso Lane following a trip to the Greenway with a friend. She was in the upstairs bathroom when she heard a loud pop that prompted her to call 911.
A kitchen fire was blocking her escape from the upstairs area. The fire quickly spread smoke throughout the house. Cawood lost consciousness while on the phone with 911 dispatch.
Cawood was recovered from the home within three minutes of the first responding truck’s arrival, due to communication between her brother, who had arrived home just after the fire began and 911 dispatch.
Bradley County Fire Rescue firefighters, Bradley County EMS paramedics, Bradley County Sheriff’s Officers and 911 Dispatch personnel met with Lindsey Cawood and her family May 9 at the BCFR headquarters in downtown Cleveland to give the responders and the family a time to reflect on the recovery.
“It’s nice to finally get to see you without smoke in-between us,” said Captain Hank Smith.
Smith and firefighter Zachary Gilreath were the first responders who found Cawood within the Cawood home.
“I can’t believe that they do this, honestly, but I’m so thankful that they do. I’m thankful for everyone who came out and helped me,” Cawood said.
“If this had happened at a different time or a different place, we wouldn’t be having this meeting right now,” said Michael Cawood, Lindsey’s father and pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Cleveland, when speaking to the group of first responders. We just wouldn’t. Lindsey wouldn’t be here with us.”
“Thank you so much for preserving her for us,” he said.
Shawn Fairbanks, the Bradley County fire chief and EMS director, indicated it took 5-7 minutes of CPR before Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) was re-established.
“She had no pulse, no respiratory status. She was clinically dead.”
The meeting included an update on Lindsey’s recovery since the fire that almost claimed her life.
According to Michael Cawood, she spent only about a week in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center for carbon monoxide poisoning and upper airway injuries.
She did not experience any burn injuries, and other than fighting off a bout with pneumonia while at the hospital, Lindsey Cawood is getting around just fine.
Several of the first responders who were dispatched to the Cawood home described the event as one where everything “fell into place.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a firefighter to pull someone out of a burning house alive,” said Fairbanks.
At the conclusion of the recap of the fire event, the room full of first responders took turns hugging and speaking with Lindsey — living, breathing proof of the work they do each and every day.
— Article and photo used with permission of The Cleveland Daily Banner.
