Firefighter responding to 911 call saves own father's life

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- A routine call for a firefighter in Phoenix, Ariz., turned into something more personal. Derek Dee saved his own father's life while responding to a 911 call last month.

Dee is not always assigned to Station 20, KNXV reports. But when he realized where he was headed as he responded to a cardiac call on Sept. 10, Dee was thankful he was in the right place at the right time.

"I'm looking like, 'No, that can't be right. Not a code.' That's the worst call I could get to that address," Dee said.

When Dee arrived at his parents' house, he found his father without a pulse. A neighbor had started chest compressions, but hadn't yet brought him back.

"When you see your dad lying on the ground and his face is blue and he's not breathing... I was just saying, 'Come on, Dad. Come on,'" Dee said.

The firefighter shocked his father back to life with a defibrillator and rushed him to the hospital.

Tommy Dee, who is doing fine now, still can't believe he technically died.

"They said, 'You're one of the few that survived this,"" he said.

Derek Dee would not take full credit for the rescue. A special ceremony will be held to honor the 911 dispatcher, his co-workers at the station and the hospital staff who helped save his dad.