Porch light saved life: heart attack survivor meets ambos who found him

Tony Ager's street has no street lights - at two in the morning, when he started experiencing chest pain, it was pitch black.

"You can't see anybody from the road without the lights on unless there's a full moon, but there wasn't that night," Mr Ager said.

Mr Ager called his daughter, who lives nearby. She called an ambulance.

Getting up to turn on the lights despite his pain wasn't a conscious decision, Mr Ager said.

"I just automatically got up and turned the lights on and opened up the door," he said.

Within two minutes of the paramedics arriving, Mr Ager was in cardiac arrest.

Jeremy Cavedon, the paramedic who attended Mr Ager's emergency call, said being able to see the lights on in the house was critical to saving Mr Ager's life.

"If we'd gone down the wrong street and couldn't find the right address, he would have potentially arrested long before we got to him," Mr Cavedon said.

"When it comes to heart attacks, every minute is muscle. The heart dies relatively quickly."

In rural areas with dirt roads, poor lighting and painted on street numbers, the correct address can be difficult to find in an emergency situation.

Ambulance Victoria advised anyone living alone or in a rural area to be prepared for emergencies, including putting triple 0 on speed dial, having a nearby friend or family member you can call and making sure your home can be accessed through a door or other opening.

"Definitive care is in Melbourne. Bendigo does a great job and can do most of what we need, but sometimes what you really need is much further away," Mr Cavedon said.

"We can buy you that time."