DETROIT (FOX 2) – A journeyman mason was on hand as the two Detroit Fire medics were honored for bringing him back from the brink on Tuesday.

The backstory:

Every day is a second chance for Micah Parker.  Today it was another chance for him to say thanks.

“I see this guy every day from the memories,” he said.

Parker is talking about Detroit Firefighter Paramedic Chris Photiades.

“We’re responding to a different call and we were rerouted from a different call to this one,” he said.

The DFD Medic Crew was just in time to arrive at Mann Elementary School in Detroit.

“When we got there we saw the patient, his union brothers were doing CPR on him,” said Photiades.

Parker, who was working as a journeyman mason, had suffered cardiac arrest and was clinically dead.

“It was very tense. We recognized immediately that we needed to fire all cylinders when working on this guy,” said Samuel Lemire, DFD firefighter.

“We lowered him down on the ground, cut his shirt off, started CPR on him, threw the defibrillator pads on him,” said Photiades.

And then finally – there was a sign of life.

“Between us and his union brothers, Engine Company 55, we all worked together to bring him back from the dead, literally,” said Photiades.

FOX 2 first met Parker last November when he met with his union brothers, medics and DMC Sinai Grace Hospital staff to say thank you.

“I’m just happy that I am really able to talk about all this,” he said, then.

Fast-forward to EMS Week 2025 and Parker showed his appreciation while the two medics received the Kim Lagerquist Lifesaver of the Year Award from the Detroit East Medical Control Authority.

Union-required CPR training saves member’s life on Detroit job site

“Every day members go above and beyond, but for some cases, they just really need that extra recognition,” said Chuck Simms, DFD executive fire commissioner.

Everyone involved in this life-saving story say you, too, can be a hero, and it starts with learning hands-only CPR

“You not knowing CPR could be the difference between someone living or dying around you,”

“It’s two to three hours out of your day for a lifetime of knowledge that could save your life, or someone you love,” said Photiades.

This offseason, the Detroit Lions’ coaching staff was picked apart by other teams, but one critical coach opted to stay with the team despite opportunities elsewhere.

Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley interviewed several times for the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator job, but ultimately returned to Detroit—and got a nice little promotion along the way by adding run game coordinator to his title. That said, Fraley said the opportunity in Seattle was a good learning experience.

“I think everything you do in life, you’re always learning from something and trying to get better at it,” Fraley said last week. “It was a great opportunity to at least look at and learn from. You never want to take things for granted. I just want to be the best O-line coach I can be, to be honest. To be the best coach, it’s like being the best dad, the best husband. It was an honor for somebody to call and reach out, and it was a great experience.”

It’s unclear if Fraley was ever offered the job, but he made one thing extremely clear: returning to Detroit was no consolation prize for the 13-year coaching veteran.

“I’m very glad I’m back here because this is where I wanted to be with my family. We’ve got stuff special here, I’ve got a special room,” Fraley said.

The importance of Fraley to Detroit’s offensive line cannot be overstated. Not only has Detroit’s offensive line been their biggest strength during their franchise turnaround, but when the topic of Fraley potentially taking a job elsewhere came up, Lions All-Pro offensive linemen Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow both joked that they rely on Fraley so much that they would sabotage his efforts to leave.

“I haven’t played in this league without Hank and I don’t plan on doing it. I’ll sabotage him, I’ll leak stories, whatever it takes,” Ragnow joked.

“He’s just been one of those pillars for me in this organization,” Sewell said. “When I first came in, I fell in love with him, and we’ve got a history, too. He was recruiting me in high school when he was at UCLA. So, lotta history between us, and our relationship has grown. He’s like coach (Dan) Campbell in terms of a figure in my eyes. So, he’s not going nowhere.”

For Fraley, leaving Detroit would have been a tough decision. He’s been in Detroit for seven years now. He’s raised four children who call Detroit home. And there’s also something special to him about walking through those doors at the Lions’ Allen Park facility every day.

“Family is a big part of it, but really, the (offensive line) room,” Fraley said. “Coach Campbell is a big part of it. Family, we’ve been here going on eight years. For me, personally, you guys probably know a lot more than that, but my kids, before here, the longest they ever lived (in one place) was four years. Michigan, I would say, is home for them. Even though they’ll go anywhere. We’ve lived all over the country. But home right now, for my wife and I, is here in Michigan.”