The grant also funded a respirator fit test machine, which all firefighters throughout Hopewell Valley will use to test for proper sealing on the self-contained breathing apparatus masks they wear in fires.

"We recognize and appreciate the valuable year-round services the Hopewell Township Emergency Services provide to our community and we are proud to provide this grant to help improve response capabilities and the health and safety of our municipal responders, John A. Welling, III, director of Emergency Services at Bristol-Myers Squibb said in the statement.

"We thank Bristol-Myers Squibb for their generosity and commitment to the visitors, residents, and emergency responders throughout Hopewell Valley," the district said in the statement.

She had a severe blood clot, and her heart stopped beating.

"I had no pulse so they started doing compressions," Hardesty said.

Paramedics from Sacramento Metro Fire went to work, along with a new contraption -- The Lucas Device.

"It essentially does chest compressions, non-stop, without interruption, doesn't get tired or fatigued like a human would, and it has better quality of compression," EMS Captain Jonpaul Seivane of Metro Fire said.

The ambulance that came to Hardesty's home carried one of only three Lucas devices in Sacramento County.

"I was one of the first one they used it on. A first for me," Hardesty said.

The CPR device can be used on patients pretty much anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether they are on the floor, a staircase or on a rolling gurney.

The department knew that these devices were extremely helpful and had the potential to save thousands of lives. The only problem was, that each device costs $15,000. That is when their Grants division stepped in.

“Some of them (firefighter manuals) can be several hundred dollars apiece and the manikins themselves are quite expensive, so trying to pull that out of our normal operating budget is pretty difficult to do,” Lamar said.

Missouri American Water awarded about 24 grants to fire departments across the state this year. Jody Carlson, senior manager for field services and production at Missouri American Water Northwest Operations, said the water utility company works closely with fire departments in the areas it serves.

“It allows us to continue to invest in the communities,” Carlson said.

Missouri American Water started the fire department grant program in 2011. Carlson said the company did not award grants for a couple years due to budget restrictions. Fire departments typically use the funds for equipment and training materials, Carlson said.

This is the second time the St. Joseph Fire Department has received this particular grant. Carlson and a few members of the St. Joseph Fire Department gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the grant and share what materials the department would be purchasing with the funds.

Lamar said the CPR certification materials are an important purchase for the department right now. Firefighters are required to renew their CPR certification every two years, and all firefighters are due to update their certifications this year.

“The CPR is mandated. We use that on a daily basis. We have to keep all of our members up to date,” Lamar said. “The firefighter materials, obviously anything that has changed in the firefighter world, that comes out in the manuals.”