Charles Nunez

Charles Nunez is a Lieutenant/Paramedic Firefighter with nearly 17 years of EMS experience spanning interfacility transport, 911 response, emergency department care, and fire-based EMS. For the past year, he has served at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), bringing extensive clinical experience and an unwavering commitment to his patients.

On February 5, 2026, Charles and his partner, Brandon Lauer, responded to an emergency involving a USAFA cadet who had been struck directly in the chest by a lacrosse ball. The cadet went into cardiac arrest, and his coach immediately began CPR.

When Charles and Brandon arrived, their clinical knowledge and understanding of the mechanism of injury led them to suspect commotio cordis, a rare and potentially fatal cardiac event in which a blow to the chest at a precise moment in the heart’s electrical cycle can trigger sudden cardiac arrest. Because there may be little or no external evidence to indicate the severity of the injury, recognizing the condition requires clinical awareness and attention to how the event occurred.

Charles and Brandon immediately provided lifesaving care and prepared the cadet for transport. Just as importantly, they communicated their concern for commotio cordis directly to the receiving emergency department, ensuring the hospital team understood the mechanism of injury and their suspected cause of the cardiac arrest.

The outcome was extraordinary: the cadet survived and ultimately walked out of the hospital with no neurological deficits.

The call demonstrated why experience, continuing education, preparation, and clinical awareness are so important in EMS. A provider may encounter a rare condition only once in an entire career, but when that moment comes, recognition and decisive action can make a lifesaving difference. Charles brings that same level of commitment to every patient. As his supervisor describes it, he gives 100 percent of his care and compassion regardless of whether the call involves a simple bandage or a cardiac arrest.

Outside of EMS, Charles enjoys weight and resistance training, listening to music, learning to play the drums, spending time with his girlfriend, and caring for his three dogs—Blaze, Coal, and Ozzy Pawsborne. His commitment to service also extends beyond EMS: he recently enlisted in the Army Reserves and is preparing to begin basic training.

Charles’s career reflects the clinical skill, compassion, preparedness, and dedication that define exceptional emergency medical care. His ability to recognize an extraordinarily rare emergency and act decisively alongside his partner helped give a young man the opportunity to walk out of the hospital healthy. He is proudly recognized as a Star of Life.