BUFFALO, N.Y. — It was the search for an adrenaline rush that led Josh Militello to train for his first half Ironman. In July of 2023, it was finally time to put his training to the test.

“I’ve been with Getzville as a full active member since I was 18, so this will be my 10th year here,” said Militello, a volunteer firefighter with the Getzville Fire Company. “Every call is different, there's a little bit of an adrenaline rush to it.”

What Josh didn't know was that the adrenaline rush was going to come in a way he didn't expect.

What You Need To Know

  • Josh Militello saved a man who had a heart attack during an Ironman race

  • The man fell to the ground and needed CPR

  • Militello knew CPR skills from his employment as a police officer and being a volunteer firefighter

“Before any race, your nerves are all worked up, you have butterflies at the beginning,” Militello said.

He had completed the swimming and biking portion and just started the run portion of the race when an unexpected adrenaline rush happened.

“I don’t even think I was a mile into the run when someone was calling out that they needed a doctor and I basically kept running and saw that the gentleman was lying on the ground," he explained.

The man had experienced cardiac arrest and had no pulse.

“It's hard to explain, but when you’re in emergency services, at least in my experience, you turn a switch on when you’re at work or you’re going to a call, and then when you’re done at least for me you turn off.”

Militello and a doctor who had also been participating in the race took turns administering CPR to the man. 

“Eventually we got pulses back and they were able to load him onto the ambulance,” he said.

His physical training helped him in the race that day. And it was his CPR training that ended up saving a life.

“I was able to pause my watch as we kind of started figuring things out so my watch time was around five hours 30 minutes,” he said. “I think it was just the right place, right time and then right training.”