GLASSBORO — Three EMTs and a registered nurse were presented with Meritorious Service Awards Wednesday for helping to save a man’s life.

The awards were presented by the Gloucester County Hero Scholarship Fund to RN Stephanie Brown, who works at the Rowan University Wellness Center, and to the three EMTs, who are students: senior Jessica Postorivo and juniors Ben Dafilou and Paul Comber.

According to GCHSF member, Andrew Halter, on Sept. 13, some men were testing a Katana-style sword purchased at a flea market when the blade broke, Part of the blade became lodged in the chest of one of the men, Halter said.

His friends, trying to help, pulled the blade from his chest and got him into a vehicle for a trip to a hospital, said Halter.

The patient’s condition started to deteriorate rapidly, causing him to have difficulty breathing. The vehicle was near the Wellness Center, so they pulled over and a friend ran inside to seek help, Halter said.

Brown, the nurse, directed other staffers to call for an ambulance while she went to help the patient.

The ambulance was on-scene in two minutes and the decision was made to rush the patient to Cooper University Hospital because it’s a Trauma Center, said Halter.

At Cooper, it was learned the patient had a large tear in his right lung as well as other injuries. The bleeding into his chest cavity was so extensive and difficult to control, it took the efforts of two surgeons to repair the damage and stop the bleeding.

Doctors at Cooper told the patient’s family that he was alive only because if the quick actions and correct decisions made by Brown and the three EMTs.

The presentation was made by Halter and fellow GCHSF member Butch Moore at the monthly Rowan University Board of Trustees meeting in the Rowan Student Center Ballroom,where friends and family came to cheer on the recipients.

Rowan President Ali Houshmand made the presentations.