Tradies down tools to save man's life with makeshift tourniquet

Carpenter Josh Sander and apprentice Gary Tunbridge are being called heroes after downing tools to save a man's life.

They were working on a pergola at a quiet Gracemere cul-de-sac in central Queensland just before 8am on Monday.

"We were just about to jump up on the roof, and we heard a lady across the road start yelling out," Mr Sander said.

The pair rushed to help, finding 93-year-old Ian Barton lying on his back patio, surrounded by blood, having tripped on the lip of a small ramp.

"He's had a bowl of porridge in his hand, and he's landed on it, and it sliced the artery in his wrist … straight away we knew it was an artery," Mr Sander said.

"Going out there, seeing the blood … I sort of stopped for a second and then realised, 'This is life or death now, so I'm going to have to think of something quickly here.'"

Mr Sander said he grabbed a tea towel and wrapped Mr Barton's wrist tightly, but it did not slow the bleeding enough.

"So, I sent Gary over to grab some tape [from the truck], and I ran inside and grabbed one of her [Ms Barton's] dresses and managed to get a lot tighter of a wrap, and then Gary very tightly wrapped the tape around it."

The pair put further pressure on the wound and makeshift tourniquet.

Mr Sander said the elderly man "faded off" a few times, and the pair had to "wake him up" while they waited 40 minutes for an ambulance.

When they noticed Mr Barton seemed to be choking, Mr Tunbridge spotted false teeth lodged in his mouth.

"He's reached in and pulled them out just to keep the airflow happening," Mr Sander said.

Mr Barton was taken to Rockhampton hospital, where he remained in a stable condition.

His family are hopeful he could return home in the coming days.

In response to the more than 30-minute wait, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said the local Gracemere crew was experiencing significant demand at the time.

"But [they] responded as quickly as possible to treat and then transport the patient to hospital," the spokesperson said.

"We want to thank the members of the community for their quick thinking and providing care prior to our crew's arrival."

'It means the world'

Mr Barton's wife, Joy, said she was beyond grateful for the two men's help and considered them both heroes.

"They saved my husband's life … I thought he was going to die," she said.

"When they took him out on the ambulance chair, I kissed him. He looked so terrible."

But Ms Barton was relieved to see her husband looking a lot better after an operation that afternoon.

"It means the world to me, what they did."

The couple's granddaughter posted to social media the next day, thanking the two tradesmen for their work. The pair were quickly tracked down and identified.

Ms Barton said she was still trying to work out how to repay them.

But the men said they were just relieved Mr Barton was recovering.

Mr Sander said it had been a few years since his last first aid course, but this had prompted him to consider booking in for a refresher.

For Mr Tunbridge, who only began his apprenticeship four months ago, it had been an eventful start to his career.

"They never said anything about being a paramedic," he said, firm that there would be no career change anytime soon.