Piedmont Eastside honors first responders for saving officer at Stone Mountain Park from heart attack

Snellville, Ga. (June 17, 2026) – Piedmont Eastside Medical Center held a ceremony this week to recognize a team of First Friday Heroes® who responded to a medical emergency for one of their own, the assistant chief of police and fire at Stone Mountain Park.

Lieutenant Colonel Brian Faith, who has been a first responder at Stone Mountain Park since 1998, was working out in the staff gym one evening back in February when he experienced severe chest pain later confirmed to be a heart attack. His colleague at Stone Mountain, Lieutenant Ryan Wells, called 9-1-1 and a tremendous response ensued to get Faith to Piedmont Eastside. The Department of Public Safety at Stone Mountain, DeKalb County Fire Rescue, and the North Med 49 unit of AMR all supported the life-saving effort, specifically:

Stone Mountain Park Dept. of Public Safety

• Lieutenant Ryan Wells
• Sergeant Diane Coleman
• Corporal Anthony Beck
• Officer Melanie Hacker
• Officer Ramon Thomas
• Operator Amanda Trent

DeKalb County Fire Rescue

• Kenneth Anderson
• Joshua James
• Sanjin Hamzic

AMR – North Med 49

• Marquavious Taylor
• Alexander Turner

Robin Huff, Faith’s sister, a paramedic with AMR herself, was honored as well. She spoke with Wells by phone during the episode.

Christopher Greenland, M.D., medical director of the Emergency Department at Piedmont Eastside, presented the honorees with certificates of appreciation and celebrated Faith’s recovery.

“The response of this team couldn’t have been better,” said Dr. Greenland. “Every second counts during a heart attack. Their seamless coordination saved a life.”

Piedmont Eastside created the First Friday Hero program to recognize first responders and everyday heroes who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. If you’d like to nominate a first responder to be a First Friday Hero, please submit a nomination to firstfridayheroeastside@piedmont.org. Nominations should include:

• Your name and contact information
• Nominee’s name, employer and employer’s contact information
• Brief summary of why the nominee should be recognized as a First Friday Hero