When the power saw Garry Beven was using to cut down some trees kicked back and sliced deep into his calf, he knew he was in trouble.
The now-69-year-old put his leg in a plastic shopping bag to try to stop the bleeding, then called for his wife and daughter.
"Blood was just oozing and pulsating out," he said.
When his daughter called triple-0, it was ambulance office Lewis Stadler who took the call in the Hobart dispatch centre.
With the phone on speaker, Mr Stadler coached Mr Beven's daughter on how to make a tourniquet with a cloth and stick.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Mr Stadler remained calm throughout.
Mr Stadler: "Is anyone able to get a piece of long, wide cloth?"
“Place the cloth around [the] calf 5–8 centimetres above the wound.
"Tie a knot, like tying your shoe and as tightly as you possibly can. Keep twisting the stick until the bleed stops”
Mr Beven's daughter: "I can’t see it anymore.”
Mr Stadler: "You cant see the blood anymore, do you mean?"
Mr Beven's daughter: "Yes, I can’t see the bleeding anymore."
Mr Stadler: "You’ve done an amazing job with that tourniquet."
Mr Beven said Mr Stadler remained calm, professional and encouraging throughout and although he felt he was "nearly gone" by the time the ambulance got there, he wasn't scared.
"I knew everybody around me, my daughter particularly, did everything they possibly could," he said.
The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch named Mr Stadler the 2021 Australasian Dispatcher of the Year for his work saving Mr Beven's life.
He said it was a humbling experience.
"I feel like dispatchers are backstage characters a lot of the time," he said.
Ambulance chief commends efforts
Ambulance Tasmania chief executive Joe Acker said he was "enormously proud" of Mr Stadler's efforts.
"There can be no greater recognition of the contribution to the safety of every Tasmanian who finds themselves facing the worst day of their lives and calling triple-0."
Mr Beven said "it's one of those things you don't really consider until you've been through it".
Even though the two have never met, Mr Beven said he would not be alive if it weren't for Mr Stadler, and at the very least would like to buy him a beer.
Mr Stadler has been in the job for almost six years and said it was a rewarding career option.
"It's got to be one of the most rewarding jobs, really,' he said.
"You get to help people when they need it the most, and that's really amazing."
