BRUIN — A team of first responders received commendations and praise for its life-saving efforts on Wednesday.

O.J. Roudebush, of Bruin, attended the borough council meeting with his leg covered in clean linen wrappings and a rolling prop to keep it elevated.

Roudebush was saved with life-saving techniques by a team of first responders from Bruin Volunteer Fire Department, Karns City Ambulance, LifeFlight and UPMC.

“It's humbling to know my life was in their hands, and it truly truly was,” Roudebush said.

Roudebush said he was cutting his grass this summer on a riding mower when the mower got caught on a travel trailer in his yard, pulling him into the trailer's newly sharpened edge.

“It went into my shin and severed three arteries,” he said.

Roudebush said emergency crews worked quickly to control the bleeding, which he said was occurring at a rapid and fatal rate.

“I was ready to lay on my kitchen floor and give up, and they kept talking to me and talking to me and keeping me going,” he said.

Fire Chief Eric Feicht of the Bruin VFD said the team of nine first responders, including the ambulance crew, Bruin Fire QRS and the prehospital LifeFlight crew received a commendation from the fire department and lifesaver medals.

“They made a difference in his life,” Feicht said. “Not only was his life saved, but so was his leg.”

EMT Amy McConnell, director of operations for Karns City Regional Ambulance, worked on Roudebush at the scene. She said they knew immediately they had to apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, something she said 90 percent of her staff is trained to do.

“I do believe that if we didn't have that class, we would not have been able to provide the care that we did that day,” McConnell said.

McConnell said Wednesday's recognition was beyond what they typically receive in terms of updates on patients, which normally is no information.

She said it was gratifying to see the recovery of a man who had lost all of his color because he lost much of his blood.

“It makes our job worth it. It really does,” McConnell said. “It's very nice to see his well complexion. Just for him to even be alive is absolutely amazing.”

Another of the nine first responders recognized, Robert Ploskunak, flew the helicopter that took Roudebush to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh.

“That critical care that they receive from when I get the call to when I get there, it makes a big difference for me.”

He said with the time saved by paramedics, he can check for weather patterns or avoidable circumstances and it gives the fire department time to set up a landing zone.

“Every additional second helps us to do our job safely and effectively,” he said.

Philip Rozic, EMS specialist for UPMC Shadyside, said the first responders have trained through the Stop the Bleed initiative, which the Obama administration implemented after the Sandy Hook school shooting.

“One thing about it is we can actually save lives by using tourniquets and stuffing wounds,” Rozic said. “It's really kind of cut and dry. It saves lives.”

Rozic said UPMC has handed out more than 12,000 tourniquets to local and state police, has given over 650 Stop the Bleed kits to public schools in the state and has trained over 50,000 people in the region to use the kits.

“Extremity injuries are the most common type of life-threatening bleeding that occurs, so that was basically a textbook injury. That's exactly what we teach.”

Roudebush said he was extremely thankful to the first responders. He said he hopes state lawmakers recognize the impact and the number of lives saved by this type of training.

“They really showed compassion, and they knew what they were doing,” Roudebush said. “I can't thank them enough.”