Denver Fire Lt. Richard Montoya’s heart had already stopped when paramedic Damion English arrived outside a burning home to save him.
English began resuscitation, loaded him into the back of an ambulance and started medication.
Montoya’s heart started beating for 10 seconds.
“And then we lost him,” English said.
On the way to Denver Health Medical Center, three fellow firefighters watched as English finally revived Montoya.
“They just leaned back. It was pretty emotional,” the paramedic said during a news conference Tuesday at the hospital.
Montoya has remained in the intensive care unit since the Sunday morning fire, which also left 16-year-old Raquel Gutierrez in critical condition with burns.
Gutierrez’s mother, Cindy Maestas, said she left a candle burning in the house at 4306 Thompson Court.
The candle ignited a cotton ball that was soaked with a cosmetic ointment.
There are fears that Montoya has brain damage because he lost blood flow to the brain when he went into cardiac arrest, said Dr. Michael Hanley, who is treating Montoya.
While Montoya was in a second-floor bedroom fighting the fire, a mattress and portions of the roof toppled onto him. The mattress dislodged his air mask, authorities said.
It’s unknown if the smoke inhalation Montoya suffered caused his heart failure.
Montoya is in a drug-induced coma and is breathing with a ventilator. He is receiving antibiotics because he has developed pneumonia, Hanley said. The fireman’s blood pressure and organs are strong, the doctor said, adding that Montoya was not burned.
Montoya’s wife, son and daughter have remained at his bedside, said his son, Eric Carrasco, who is also a Denver firefighter.
Montoya is two months from retirement. His plans include playing golf, even though it isn’t his best sport, and being a full-time grandfather to his four grandchildren.
Montoya raised his son and daughter from the time they were 2 and 3 years old.
June will bring his 29th wedding anniversary.
Montoya inspired his son to become a firefighter.
“He loved the job so much, he wanted me to do it,” Carrasco said.
Denver Fire Chief Larry Trujillo described Montoya as a fit and ultra-competitive sportsman who likes to build homes on his days off.
Montoya passed physical exams required by the city, and Trujillo said he knows he’ll use that strength to fight his way back to health.
“There is one fight you have left and you are going to win this,” the chief said.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
