Staff members of the Franklin County Courthouse stand in the hallway Wednesday afternoon where they recently helped a young man having a medical crisis. From left, Brandon Gray, maintenance; Nicholas Palmer, facilities manager; Jamie Sullivan, administrative assistant; Sheri Lopez, deputy register of probate; and Heidi Jordan, register of probate. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

FARMINGTON — When a young man suffered a seizure in the hallway of the Franklin County Courthouse in January, county employees quickly went into action.

Those actions were recognized with a standing ovation by Franklin County commissioners and others at the Feb. 4 commission meeting.

Receiving recognition were Heidi Jordan, register of probate; Sheri Lopez, deputy register of probate; Margot Joly, judge of probate; Jamie Sullivan, administrative assistant in the commissioners’ office; Nick Palmer, facilities manager; and Brandon Gray, an employee of the Facilities Department.

“When things like that happen, it takes a special person to not run away, but to jump into action,” Chairman Bob Carlton of Freeman Township, said during the meeting.

The young man fell while he was walking near the Register of Deeds Office at the end of the hall while his mother was at the Register of Probate service window. She told probate employees he was having a seizure, Jordan said Wednesday.

At the mother’s request, Jordan called 911, which went to the Franklin County Regional Communications Center. A dispatcher gave Jordan directions to keep the man safe until an ambulance arrived, and Jordan relayed them to Lopez.

“Dispatch did a great job,” Jordan said.

Sullivan and Lopez comforted the mother while she soothed and assured her son.

Joly gathered information and faxed it to MaineHealth Franklin Hospital ahead of the ambulance’s arrival.

Palmer and Gray assisted MaineHealth EMS ambulance personnel as they walked the man down the courthouse’s granite stairs on Anson Street to the ambulance.

“It was cool to watch us work smoothly as a team to support the family,” Jordan said. “I think we just did what we would hope somebody would do for us.”