Appalachian Power employee displays compassion on the job

Tim Comer, a servicer II in Lynchburg, Va., came to the aid of a customer suffering from a seizure. His quick thinking and compassion on a bitterly cold January afternoon quite possibly saved the man’s life.

(Story by Teresa Hall)

Colleagues are calling an Appalachian Power Company servicer a hero after his quick thinking and compassion quite possibly saved the life of a customer on a cold winter afternoon. Tim Comer, a servicer II in Lynchburg, Va., had been talking with the homeowner about an overdue electric bill and was about to get back into his work truck when his gut instinct told him not to leave.

It turned out that Comer’s intuition on the afternoon of Jan. 23 was warranted. Comer and the homeowner were talking in the driveway when the man, who was only wearing jeans and a thin shirt on a cold winter day, mentioned that he didn’t feel well.

The wind was howling and the temperatures were in the single digits. Comer encouraged the man to get inside where it was warm. The two said goodbye and Comer turned to go back to his work truck. Comer said he was about to close the door to his vehicle when he noticed that the man was no longer in sight.

“He was gone and I just knew that something wasn’t right. He should’ve still been walking toward his house when I turned to look back at him,” Comer said.

Comer went to the front of his truck where the two had previously been talking. He glanced down and saw that the customer had collapsed and was in severe medical distress. Comer is certified in CPR and said the man, who looked to be in his early 30s, appeared to be having a massive seizure. He was shaking and his limbs had stiffened.

In March, Comer received the Roanoke district Others’ Keeper award for his actions in the field on January 23.

Comer said the scariest part was the look on the man’s face. “I was afraid he was dying. His face was blue and his eyes were rolled back.”

Comer ran back to his truck and called 911. He stayed on the phone with the dispatcher to convey information about the man’s condition until paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later. While waiting on the rescue crew, he made certain the customer was breathing and prepared to turn him on his side should he begin to vomit. When paramedics got there, the homeowner began to regain consciousness but was confused and had no memory of what had occurred.

Jim Hines, Roanoke manager distribution support, said Comer’s actions that day don’t surprise him. Were it not for Comer’s quick thinking and compassion, the customer may have suffered frostbite or died given the extreme cold that day.

In March, Comer was presented with the district’s Others’ Keeper award. “I have known Tim a long time and he genuinely cares for others and the public he serves. I am proud of him,” Hines said. “My hat is tipped to Tim and to all of our Others’ Keeper award winners for their pursuit of safety excellence to themselves, their families and the public they serve.”