Two off-duty Bellevue firefighters jumped into action late last week and saved lives in two separate accidents.

Firefighter Tim Andruss and Lt. Chris Marsh happened upon a car crash and man experiencing cardiac arrest, respectively, during their free time.

“This is a testament that firefighters are never off duty,” Bellevue Fire Chief Mark Risen said. “Lieutenant Marsh and Firefighter Andruss are tenured employees that have always served the Bellevue Fire Department extremely well and I am not surprised at all that they acted as they did. We are fortunate that our organization is filled with people of this very special mindset.”

Andruss was in Olympia when he witnessed an oncoming vehicle veer across four lanes of traffic and hit a light pole on Feb. 18. He saw that the driver was slumped over as the vehicle was crossing in front of him.

After hauling the driver out of the vehicle, Andruss performed chest compressions until the Olympia Fire Department arrived at the scene.

The following day, Marsh was snowboarding with his family at Snoqualmie Pass when he heard what he described as the distinctive sound of a body hitting the floor of the lodge’s restroom.

Inside the locked restroom stall, a man had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. Marsh crawled under the stall door to unlock it, before dragging the victim out. After directing a bystander to call 911, he and another man performed CPR. Once ski patrol personnel arrived at the scene with first aid equipment, Marsh used an automatic external defibrillator to administer a lifesaving shock that revived the victim.

The man was alert, oriented and answering questions within minutes of Marsh’s response. Both victims were taken to medical centers and are expected to have a positive outcome, according to Bellevue Fire Department spokesperson Ryan Armstrong.