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Crime & Safety

Late Firefighter Ruttenberg Honored, Defibrillators Donated to Stow

Four AEDs were donated to the fire department in honor of Jim Ruttenberg.

Before he died last May, Stow Firefighter/EMT Jim Ruttenberg made arrangements to ensure that his passion for saving lives in his beloved hometown continued even after he was gone.

Last Friday, four new automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, were presented to the city in Ruttenberg’s name during a ceremony at  Station 1.

The Stow-Munroe Falls Community Foundation served as the clearinghouse for more than $7,000 raised through contributions in Ruttenberg’s name. Those donations funded both the purchase of the AEDs and memorial plaques to accompany each unit.

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Foundation Trustee Jeannine Case said the non-profit was asked to get involved by a Florida representative of Prudential Insurance Co., Ruttenberg’s employer of 36 years. He and his wife, Debbie, had moved to Florida to be closer to their sons not long before his death.

“We got a call from a man with Prudential who said that Jim had cancer and wanted people to give memorial gifts for AEDs and that Prudential would give us matching funds,” said Case. “We started to advertise (the fund) in both Florida and here, and gifts started coming in. It was a great thing to do for the community.”

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Fire department Division Chief Lou Ann Metz, who coordinated the purchase of the AEDs and plaques, said she is “looking forward to celebrating that first life that’s saved thanks to this gift. Jim’s certainly smiling down, happy to see those (AEDs) go out into the community.”

She said the gift “puts fully-automated lifesaving equipment at the fingertips of people who are right there. Many adult cardiac arrests are due to cardiac arrhythmias, or abnormalities, so electrical therapy after good CPR is critical to the success of resuscitating those people.”

Metz said the decision on where to place the units was based on “what Jim would want. We want to ensure we’re placing them where they have the most potential to do good.”

Therefore, one AED is being placed in the busy lobby of , replacing an older unit that will be moved to the city service building. Another will be situated on a range cart at the city-owned because Ruttenberg was an avid golfer. And because he was an accomplished pilot, one unit will be going to the in Stow.

The location of the final unit has not yet been decided, but Metz said the list is narrowed down to Silver Springs Lodge and the .

Although nearly a year has passed since Ruttenberg’s May 18 death, Metz said he is still sorely missed at the fire department where he worked part-time for 39 years. His was the department’s only active-duty death in at least 30 years.

“He was so easy to talk to and he had a great sense of humor. When he showed up, you knew things were going to get better,” she said.

Since he had grown up in Stow, was a well-known community businessman and active volunteer, Ruttenberg knew many of the patients served by the fire department.

“He reached out to a huge amount of our population personally. When we had difficult calls, he would take care of the medical things if needed, but what often went unnoticed was that he took care of the families of the patients,” Metz explained. “He either knew them or he could always reach a common ground with them. He took situations that were emotionally charged and evened them out, which was huge.”

As an example, Metz referred to an emergency call for an elderly woman.

“The woman had passed away. She and her husband had been married 50, 60 years, and the husband was very distraught. Here comes Jim, and he had gone to school with this man’s daughters. He was able to establish commonality and help this man with the situation. When the daughters came, Jim was the one who broke the news,” said Metz.

She added, “It was that personal touch – which is something we still strive for in the department – that made a difference. When you lose someone who’s a hometown guy, it’s difficult.”

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