Ventura resident’s quick CPR, aided by 911 dispatcher, credited with saving husband’s life; fire department urges training

Liz Monontoya says a seemingly ordinary morning turned dangerous when her husband, David, told her he felt unusually tired and then became unresponsive. "I stood up and I saw that he was unconscious," she said, describing how she called 911 and followed the dispatcher’s instructions to start chest compressions to the rhythm of the Bee Gees’ "Stayin' Alive." "I said, 'I'm starting,' " she said. "I kept it going."

Heather Ellis, the Ventura Fire Department’s emergency medical services program administrator, said dispatcher-coached bystander CPR and early compressions are vital because professional crews can take several minutes to arrive. "Brain death starts in four to six minutes," Ellis said. "For every minute that passes, those brain cells continue to die. Bystander CPR is so incredibly important because that keeps their brain viable."

Liz said she had not taken a formal CPR course before the incident. She described the 911 operator as calm and instructive, telling her how to position David and pace compressions. When Ventura firefighters arrived, Liz said the crew was organized and "quiet" in their work; she said they used a defibrillator (she recalls multiple shocks) and a LUCAS mechanical CPR device before transporting David to the hospital.

David said he has little memory of the event between the morning of the arrest and days later in the hospital but expressed deep gratitude. "You being here means a lot to us," he told the crew when meeting them at a department awards ceremony. The Monontoyas later attended the ceremony and received life-saving recognition pins.

Ellis said Ventura hires firefighters as paramedics and that this staffing model allows advanced on-scene care, including IVs, medication administration, cardiac monitoring and airway management. She said the department follows a pit-crew resuscitation protocol and that crews are trained and re-certifying on cardiac arrest management. "Each and every patient has the availability to advanced level care," Ellis said.

The department also shared local context: Ellis said crews respond to cardiac arrests roughly two to three times a week and that overall survival in those cases is "only 10 to 12 percent," a figure she linked to the frequency of incidents where no bystander CPR was provided.

To lower those barriers, Ellis urged residents to act when they encounter an unresponsive person and described legal protections for rescuers: "The Good Samaritan Act protects [people] when it comes to acting in a situation," she said. She also gave clear hands-only CPR instructions: "Hands to the center of the chest. Push hard. Push fast. 2 inches in depth. 100 to 120 beats a minute." She recommended the American Heart Association for training resources and noted that the association offers practice kits and searchable community classes.

The Monontoyas said they plan to encourage family members to get trained, and Heather Ellis said sharing survivor stories helps department morale and public awareness. The episode closed with the podcast directing listeners to the City of San Buenaventura and Ventura Fire Department websites for more information and class listings.