It was 6:30 a.m. Jan. 27 when an emergency broadcast on the Port Authority's airwaves announced that a woman had collapsed on an inbound 46F Baldwin Highlands bus near the Whited Street stop along the South Busway.

The broadcast said the woman had stopped breathing, did not have a pulse and was turning blue.

What could have been an ominous outcome was averted when two Port Authority employees with emergency medical training rushed to the scene to administer chest compressions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the woman.

The employees, Road Operations Foreman William Gelzhiser, 42, of Pleasant Hills, and Assistant Manager of Road Operations Donald Palmer, 28, of the South Side, together were able to bring back the woman's pulse and get her breathing just as city paramedics arrived.

For their efforts, both were honored at last week's Port Authority board meeting, along with Light Rail Transit operator Timothy Bell of Elizabeth, who revived a male passenger who suffered a massive heart attack on an inbound light rail vehicle in Castle Shannon on Feb. 9.

"These three men clearly undertook heroic efforts and demonstrated outstanding conduct in support of the general welfare of the citizens of Allegheny County," Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland said in a release.

Despite Mr. Bell's efforts, the man died later in the day. But the female passenger revived by Mr. Gelzhiser and Mr. Palmer survived.

"We were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and have the right training," said Mr. Gelzhiser, who spent 15 years as a volunteer emergency medical technician for Pleasant Hills Fire Company.

Mr. Palmer said he learned his emergency medical skills while in the Marines.

Both men were working nearby on Jan. 27 when the call came in, so they got into their vehicles and rushed to the scene. When they arrived, the operator had cleared riders from the bus and the men worked on the woman in the narrow aisle.

Both said that after about two to three minutes of chest compression and CPR, the woman took her first breath, and then they started to detect a weak pulse, though the victim was still unconscious.

By the time paramedics transported the woman to the hospital, she was conscious and sitting up, the men said. Port Authority police followed up with the hospital to learn the woman arrived in stable condition.

Mr. Gelzhiser said he hopes the success of the situation will persuade the Port Authority and its union to promote CPR and lifesaving training to all employees and perhaps to offer classes for them.