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WAUKESHA - “It’s been a long time, it’s been twenty years,” Jackie Krebs said, while hugging the two Waukesha firefighters who saved her husband's life twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago Wednesday, Waukesha firefighters Todd Laurent and Jeff Schulz saved Chuck Krebs' life, using what was a brand new defibrillator at the time.  Chuck and his wife Jackie spent Wednesday evening thanking the men who saved him.

“After twenty years, it’s time to say thanks," Jackie said through tears.

Chuck is the first person in Wisconsin saved by a defibrillator.  He had a heart attacked and collapsed while at work inside his garage in Waukesha.  He was pronounced dead, but the firefighters used the defibrillator to bring Chuck back to life.

Twenty years later Chuck is healthy and enjoying life.  He gets choked up talking about seeing the firefighters who saved him for the first time since his heart attack.  Jackie brought a cake for the entire firehouse, with a thank you message written in frosting.  The message echoes her feelings.

“It’s been a good twenty years, so we’ve got that. We’ve got another 30 to go,”  Jackie said.  “We hope.”