A Kitchener teen has earned an award, and a whole lot of gratitude, for jumping into help when a stranger went into cardiac arrest.

Last fall, Dylan Duncan was getting off a train in Kitchener when he saw Lane Burman collapse to the sidewalk.

Duncan quickly jumped into action – calling 911 as he ran over to Burman, handing his phone to Burman’s wife, and starting to perform chest compressions.

“It was basically an instinct,” he said Tuesday.

Burman was taken to hospital, where doctors told him that Duncan’s intervention likely saved his life.

“I was very fortunate to have Dylan there,” Burman said Tuesday.

The two men have kept in touch, and have since struck up a bit of a friendship.

Tuesday night, Duncan received a lifesaving award from St. John Ambulance.

Both Duncan and Burman stressed the importance of taking First Aid and CPR training – which Duncan had done in high school, in college and as part of his lifeguarding job – because it can save a life of a moment’s notice.

“We should all be looking at CPR and getting our CPR certificates,” Burman said.