COEUR d'ALENE - Earlier this month, Sarah Shipman learned the rudiments of CPR in a Spokane Community College classroom - compressions, breathing, head placement, all those basic little steps that can save lives.

Like many students who attend a first aid course, the 22-year-old figured she would probably never use her new skills. CPR was just a nice thing to know, and the class was a good way to earn college credits.

But the world had other plans.

Right around 5 p.m. Friday, Shipman began her work shift at Cricket's Bar and Grill on Sherman Avenue. She had only been at the restaurant a few minutes when there was a commotion out back.

"It was just a mess," she recalled.

A man had collapsed on the patio, and he wasn't breathing. Another Cricket's employee, Ryan Cottrill, and a local man named Richard Kuck were at the scene, eyewitnesses said.

Kuck started compressions, and then Shipman arrived.

"So I just jumped in and did it," she said. "It wasn't really a big thing, I was just kind of there. I just knew what I had to do and started doing it."

The man was tall and appeared to be in his 50s or 60s, Shipman remembered. He looked blue in the face, and his tongue was very swollen. The crowd thought he was having a heart attack.

Shipman continued CPR, but it was difficult to give the man breaths, she said.

"It was pretty intense," said Jennifer Davis, another Cricket's server. "And Sarah just kept giving him chest compressions. She just really took charge."

Bar manager Rico Ciccone had also just arrived for his shift. He remained calm and dialed 911.

"It seems to me like six to eight minutes that (the man) wasn't breathing," Ciccone said.

Throughout the ordeal, while the group waited for an ambulance to arrive, Davis comforted the man's wife.

"I just basically grabbed her, and I held her and I prayed with her," Davis said.

Shipman's CPR seemed to be working - the man's condition began to improve.

"He started heaving, trying to breathe," she recalled. "Got a little bit of color back. EMTs came, and they hooked up an AED. I guess by the time he got into the ambulance he was kind of breathing."

Emergency personnel arrived at the restaurant shortly after 5, and the man was transported to Kootenai Medical Center.

On Monday, the Cricket's staff did not know the man's full name. Due to patient confidentiality, hospital staff, police and firefighters could not release the man's name, nor any information on his current medical condition.

Davis said the Cricket's emergency was "the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced in my life." But the people who helped, she added, "just really did a good job."

Ciccone was so impressed by the efforts of his fellow citizens he wrote a letter to The Press commending what they had done.

"I've never had an experience like this," he said. "The whole experience kind of moved me emotionally."

Shipman received her CPR training at SCC, but locally, the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department administers a CPR class through North Idaho College, Deputy Chief Glenn Lauper said. He encouraged community members to learn CPR if they're not already versed.

"It's really important for people to know CPR," Lauper said. "You've got to start CPR within four minutes (after an incident), or otherwise brain damage can occur. It's critical."