On Aug. 9, Axel Pineda stepped up when a call came in over the radio letting him know that someone was having a medical emergency at MarketStreet.
Pineda, a security guard at MarketStreet, reacted immediately, showing up about a minute after the call to perform life-saving CPR.
“I’ve been working here for about two years now. I had just started my shift that day when I heard something over the radio. I heard a man was down behind one of the buildings, and when I arrived, I saw him on the ground and knew I had to help him,” Pineda said.
Pineda performed CPR for more than 2 minutes until the Lynnfield Fire and Police Departments arrived and took over.
During a ceremony in which Pineda was honored for his heroism, Lynnfield Police Chief Nick Secatore noted, “The man recovered from this event, and there is no doubt that security officer Axel (Pineda’s) swift and decisive action was instrumental in achieving a life-saving outcome.”
“The American Heart Association has said that approximately 16% of cardiac events take place outside of the home, and that immediate attention and CPR can raise survivability two to three times. That’s exactly what happened in this case. A bystander called, the victim was found — in time — and CPR was started. We have had incidents where some folks are unwilling or just cannot bring themselves to assist. This is not the case here. Like I said, within 15 seconds, without training, he acted, saved somebody’s life. Incredible,” Secatore said.
Pineda said that he just liked helping other people and learning more about how to keep things safe and secure for others.
“I started off working at TD Garden as security, and from there, I started learning how to do more and more things. And I just started building from there,” he said.
It is due to his quick thinking and life-saving efforts that Pineda has been named Lynnfield Person of the Year for 2025.
