Firefighter Saves Life at 30,000 Feet Over Atlantic

Jesse Caney was trying to catch up on sleep high above the Atlantic Ocean when his girlfriend shook him awake with urgent news: a woman had collapsed on their JetBlue flight.

The Concord firefighter didn't hesitate. He found the passenger unresponsive, without a pulse, and not breathing.

Working in the cramped airplane aisle just after midnight, Caney laid the woman flat and began chest compressions. She took a labored breath, so he switched to oxygen and stayed by her side, coordinating with JetBlue medical staff over the phone.

The woman spoke only Spanish, so a flight attendant translated while an EMT took notes and a pediatrician helped review medications from her bag. When they tried to sit her up, she lost consciousness again, so they kept her flat for 40 minutes until the plane could land in Rhode Island.

By the time emergency crews met them at T.F. Green International Airport, the woman had her heartbeat back and was breathing on her own.

Why This Inspires

This wasn't Caney's first off-duty rescue. In 2024, he helped a teen injured in a Westfield motorcycle crash. A year before that, he pulled a woman from a fatal California wreck and saved her dog.

His colleagues call him "a magnet for bad things," but Concord Fire Chief Brian Whitney sees something different. "Our members don't think of service as something that starts and stops with a shift," Whitney told The Concord Bridge. "They carry that sense of responsibility with them everywhere."

The Concord Select Board honored Caney this month for demonstrating "exceptional leadership" and representing town values in the skies. His fellow firefighters packed the meeting room to celebrate.

Caney jokes that he went on vacation to Puerto Rico to escape the middle-of-the-night calls that come with firefighting. After handing the woman's care to airport crews, he finally got what he came for: he went home to sleep.