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An Oamaru couple say the speedy response of Hato Hone St John helped prevent an escalating situation turning into a tragedy.
Alister Calder was not in a good way and coughing badly when his wife Janet decided to get up to check on him.
"There was blood everywhere," she told the Oamaru Mail.
Little did the couple know Mr Calder had ulcers in his stomach and oesophagus which needed hospital care.
Mrs Calder called St John about 5am.
It took them only 20 minutes to respond.
Mr Calder was taken to Oamaru Hospital before being flown by helicopter to Dunedin during the incident, which happened last month.
He spent two days in hospital before being released and is now on the mend back at home in Oamaru.
Mr Calder approached the Oamaru Mail to praise the care he received and the couple have expressed their heartfelt thanks to Oamaru first responders.
Mr Calder said he was "just so appreciative" of the work of St John.
"I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for those guys.
"I take my hat off to the staff."
Mrs Calder agreed.
"If he’d have been somewhere where he couldn’t access St John or the helicopter, he’d have been dead — he lost that much blood.
"The ambulance people were great and the paramedics were wonderful.
"It was very reassuring to have someone on the other end of the phone."
The couple were St John supporters and paid an annual fee, which they encouraged others to do.
Mr Calder said St John was often unfairly seen as the "poor cousin" of emergency responders.
"But they’re the first responders, the front door of getting help.
"When there’s an absolute emergency, it’s a wonderful thing to know it’s there."
He was a big supporter of the Oamaru staff getting new facilities, built in Weston Rd.
"The community has grown, everything has grown and the services need to grow with it."