It’s a story of gratitude and heroism.
A 16-year-old basketball player from Brooklyn, who experienced a cardiac arrest during a game last year, had an emotional reunion on Wednesday with the FDNY first responders who saved his life.
“Without these heroes, I wouldn’t be here speaking to you today. I might be somewhere else, maybe looking down from above,” remarked Jack McMurrer from Bensonhurst during the FDNY’s 30th annual “Second Chance” event.
McMurrer, a student at New Utrecht High School, was sitting on the bench during a game in March 2025 when he unexpectedly collapsed, leaving his teammates in shock.
“I don’t remember anything from that day. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital with my mom by my side, trying to comprehend what had happened,” McMurrer recalled.
Emergency medical services quickly arrived at the scene and initiated chest compressions, successfully using a defibrillator to restore his heart’s normal rhythm.
McMurrer, who was suffering from a “v-fib arrest,” later got an emergency surgery, now uses a defibrillator, and is still playing basketball, he said.
“You guys saved my life. Without you guys coming in that day, coming in clutch, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said, while thanking members of FDNY Engine Company 279.
His father, Tom McMurrer, said he was blown away by the paramedics’ coolheadedness.
“I was amazed at how calm they were. A great team works together, like, the Knicks last night, right? That’s how they worked,” he said.”They saved my son’s life.”
He added that he was grateful for a nurse and doctor at the game, who performed chest compressions until EMS workers arrived.
Paramedic Sam Andrews, part of the team that saved McMurrer, was thrilled to later learn the boy was fine.
“This was one of the most special jobs I’ve ever done—that we’ve ever done,” Adams said.
“This is why we do all of this. It’s a second chance, a second chance for him,” said firefighter Kendall Williams, who also helped rescessitate McMurrer.
Six other victims of serious heart trouble were also reunited with their FDNY heroes at the event at Nicotra’s Ballroom on Staten Island Wednesday.
Other victims included a jogger who had a heart attack on the West Side Highway and an off-duty cop who suffered cardiac arrest while spending an afternoon with his son.
