ARLINGTON - "I was right up top here," Cliff Pace said, while pointing at his rooftop.
He was unconscious and dangling from the side.
"My leg was hanging off the side here," he said, pointing slightly further down.
Pace is talking about the day he nearly died while putting up Christmas decorations along the gutter of his Arlington home.
"I was kind of wobbling back and forth," Pace said. "[I] passed out face-first on the shingles, cut the side of my face and went into sudden cardiac death."
His family started CPR on the roof as medics arrived. Then the medical staff took over, bringing him back to life, and down off the roof to an awaiting ambulance.
"If they start doing CPR, that's a good five to eight minutes someone is doing CPR and getting it started," said Trevin Bradshaw with the Arlington Fire Department.
Thursday those emergency res ponders were honored by the department for their work, and so was Pace's family for everything they did.
"Seeing this beautiful family in this time of year, together, healthy [and] loving each other is really what makes it a calling for us," said Assistant Chief Jim Self.
Pace says his heart stopped for 14 minutes that afternoon, and in this season of giving, he's been given the best gift of all.
"Their efforts made all the difference in the world," Pace said.
E-mail ccivale@wfaa.com
