Stony Brook Nurses, Off-Duty Officers Revive Man at Port Jeff Station Gym

A 43-year-old man is in stable condition at after two Stony Brook nurses, a Suffolk County corrections officer and a Sixth Precinct police officer – all of whom were off-duty at the time – helped revive him when he collapsed during a workout on Friday morning.

Police said Robert Kubal, of Port Jefferson Station, collapsed after going into cardiac arrest while lifting weights at on Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday.

According to a police report, Lori Fink and Anthony Tirella, who work as nurses at the hospital in Stony Brook, along with officer Michael Williams of the Sixth Precinct and corrections officer James Zahn, used an automated external defibrillator and performed CPR. Their efforts helped Kubal regain consciousness and his breathing was restored. Terryville Rescue transported him to Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Francesca Maio, general manager at Fitness Plus, said in an interview Friday afternoon that Kubel had collapsed while lifting dumbbells of an unknown size, and a male gym patron nearby saw him collapse and called 911.

"He was actually in the dumbbell area working by himself, doing his own weights," Maio said. "You saw him pick up two dumbbells and he didn't look right. He fell back."

She said Kubel had been a member at the gym since December of 2009 and was a regular there with some acquaintances among its clients, though he mostly worked out alone.

The gym, which is larger than 26,000 square feet in size, opened ten years ago. Maio said the gym's location has attracted many clients who are police officers and members of local fire departments. She said the gym acquired the AED device at least three years ago and this was the first time it had to be used.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.