Message from the Founder

John Vaval FDNY Firefighter/Paramedic

On September 11, 2001 I witnessed that the World Trade  Center was struck by a plane. As an undergraduate college student watching this event unfold, I thought it was a dream and hoped that I would wake up from it. It was a great unfortune that many lives were taken away from us, but I knew from that point on that I needed to render aide and give somebody a second chance. I had a great passion for the medical field while growing up. Therefore, the best way to give back during this tragic event was to become an Emergency Medical Technician and to teach civilians and medical professionals cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  My career as a First Responder commenced in June 2002 as a volunteer for Elmont Volunteer Fire Department where I acquired my very first EMT certification in 2003. In order to offset my volunteer career, I joined with a well-known and accredited EMT and CPR Instructor Robert Crutch at the FDNY EMS Academy. I have worked under Mr. Crutch’s direction with his own private company First Life Inc. In addition, I have worked with the sister company First Response Advantage for the past 15 years as an Instructor for BLS, Heartsaver AED, First Aid and ACLS for the past 17 years. I was so intrigued by Mr. Crutch’s work that I was inspired to join the FDNY EMS as an  EMT in May 2006. It was a blessing in disguise to be part of the BEST and become an Emergency  Medical Technician for the Fire Department of New York. In 2008, I advanced my career as a Paramedic for FDNY EMS and have continued my Paramedic career with other municipalities ever since. The advancement of my EMS career gave me the insight on how to teach Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to civilians, Nurses, Doctors, Educators and a plethora of Good Samaritans in Corporate America.

Of Course, my EMS career did not stop my progression as a First Responder. On January 2013, I was sworn  in as a Firefighter for the FDNY and have served for 10 years thus far. I am currently serving the East New York in Brooklyn NY in the busiest Engine company of the FDNY. We have assisted EMS on calls as Certified First Responders- Defibrillator (CFR-D) where the help is needed tremendously to render medical aide and perform CPR.  The call volume of 3,500 EMS runs on average in the East New York area (not including Fire Emergency Calls) has proven that performing CPR, rendering patient care and performing first-aid is second nature to me. Now it is time to give back by teaching.

At Second Chance Survival, our growing staff will not only instruct you how to perform all resuscitative efforts but to make it second nature in the time of need. Everybody deserves a second chance of life.

If you would like to get proficient and best training for any survival efforts with real life scenarios, please book an appointment with us.

God Bless You and Be Safe