Steve Oliveira walked into the Tiverton Fire Department headquarters on Main Road one recent morning, bearing coffee, donuts and gift cards for the crew. It was the least he could do, he said, for those who saved his life.

For fire fighters and EMTs who often see the worst of life and seldom hear back from those they've helped, the surprise visit felt good — and was quite unexpected, said Lt. David McGovern.

"He was besides himself happy," said McGovern.

Early on the morning of Friday, March 31, crews received a frantic 911 call from Oliveira's Beech Avenue home, less than a mile from the station: A man in his late 40s was in cardiac arrest, and family members needed help immediately. The first responders arrived four minutes later.

Oliveira, 48, who works as a line service technician for Verizon, had gone to bed as usual earlier that night, with wife Dawn; their daughter Hannah, a senior at Tiverton High School, was asleep in her bedroom.

At about 3:30 a.m., Dawn was awakened by her husband's obvious distress: "He had a very scary heartbeat, very terrible breathing, he was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were rolling back in his head and his color was changing," she said. "I screamed for my daughter immediately; she came in and we called 911."

Though neither Hannah nor Dawn were formally trained in CPR, Steve had thought to mention the larger points of the procedure just a few weeks earlier, after he completed a refresher course in the live-saving procedure for work.

"I started the compressions and my daughter took over, then I started again and (rescue crews) arrived," Dawn said. "I literally saw him take his last breath."

Working the shift that night were Capt. Peter Manchester, Lt. Bill Pannicia, Lt. Mike Ladusau and fire fighters Jim Miranda, Nick Barboza, Mark Williams and Brandon Botelho, who all responded. When they arrived, they immediately took over.

"He really lucked out with the guys on duty because they are senior members who knew what they were doing," McGovern said.

Oliveira was also lucky that Dawn and Hannah knew at least the fundamentals of CPR, and were able to provide crucial care before the responders' arrival. And the department brought along an automatic chest compression machine that fit over Oliveira's torso, helping responders immensely, McGovern said.

But initially, it didn't look good. Rescuers were on the scene for about half an hour, and worked desperately to to try to restore a pulse. They finally got a heartbeat after putting Oliveira in the rescue truck for a ride to St. Anne's Hospital.

After he was admitted, responders never heard what happened to him, McGovern said.

Oliveira, who was in otherwise good shape and had no cardiac history, ended up spending 25 days in the hospital, 14 of those in a coma. He was released with no complications, though he still hasn't returned to work and is doing exercises and cardiac rehabilitation to strengthen his system.

"I don't remember anything," he said of that night. "I went to bed that night like I have every day, and woke up two weeks later. No memory loss, no brain damage (and) I feel fine now."

Oliveira was well-acquainted with the crew at the fire station, and would often wave as he passed by on the job. He said that one of his first thoughts upon learning what happened was thanking them — it was the least he could do, he said.

"I wanted just to say thanks to the guys," he said. "I didn't know exactly who was there but I wanted to get them a Thank You card, a couple of gift cards, and let them know that I was thankful for what they did. So I just decided to stop in.

"I know a lot of these guys don't get recognition," he said. "I'm so thankful ... it's been a great recovery. I can't believe where I was and where I am now. My percentages (of survival) were small, and coming out with no lasting effects is unbelievable. I'm very thankful."

Said McGovern: "I'm proud of the guys for what they did."