On September 23, 2019, Humber College’s Security Operations Control Centre assigned security guard Ramanpreet Kaur to attend a first aid call at the college’s North campus.  

Kaur called her supervisor as soon as she got to the scene. It was serious. 

“There were a few staff members surrounding a student and she was on the ground. Her face was turning blue and after a few seconds she was gasping for air,” she said. 

“I tried to grab her hand to get a response, telling her to squeeze my hand, but there was no response.” 
Soon Kaur’s supervisor Alex Guo got to the scene, eventually using a defibrillator. 

Their actions are the reason the young woman lived, recovered, and returned to studies at Humber College. 

They’ve since been recognized by the Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators (OACUSA) with an award for their heroism. 

‘It was all really fast’ 

Both Alex Guo and Ramanpreet Kaur recall the whirlwind incident in detail. 

“You trust your instincts and training and experience to just kick in,” said Guo, a Training Supervisor with Humber’s Department of Public Safety.   

“The adrenaline kicks in. A lot of people tend to freeze up. That says a lot about the training we have at Humber and the variety of incidents our guards deal with. They are prepared.” 

Two nurses - Humber College faculty members - assisted at the scene. 

One nurse started CPR and Kaur started performing compressions on the young woman. 

Kaur was also on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, updating emergency services as to the woman’s condition. 

Then Guo arrived and took over compressions.  

Soon after, the AED defibrillator was used. 

“It was all really fast,” said Kaur. 

Emotional reunion 

The Humber student was rushed to the hospital and immediately underwent surgery. She had an AED installed in her heart for a previously undiagnosed heart condition. 

Only one in 100,000 people with the condition is expected to survive. 

The lead researcher on the Heart Failure Cardiac Research team at St. Michael’s hospital said that the rapid deployment of the AED saved the woman’s life. 

After a similar incident, Humber changed the AED policy and required every team member to respond to first aid calls with an AED in hand. 

“It’s not every day you get folks performing lifesaving efforts,” said Rob Kilfoyle, the director of Humber College’s department of Public Safety and Emergency Management. 

He makes a point to mention the two faculty members who helped. 

“Others shouldn’t go unrecognized,” said Kilfoyle. 

When the Humber student returned to North campus a few weeks later, she brought her parents. They met with Kaur and Guo and expressed immense gratitude for their part in saving their daughter’s life. 

“It felt like we got lucky, like we had a chance to save her life. We got to help her when she needed us. It felt so great,” said Kaur. 

Guo says he’s never experienced anything as emotional as the reunion. 

He accepted the award on behalf of his team. 

“As cliché as it sounds, we were literally just doing our job. Our mandate as security guards is to first protect life,” said Guo. 

The Department of Public Safety’s nomination letter mentions the guards’ “heroic efforts, critical thinking skills and scene assessment” as contributing to the happy ending. 

It’s an honour made even better when shared.