KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Officer Norman Rickman is alive thanks in part to a fast-acting nurse.

Tim Hall lives just across the street from where officer Rickman was shot.

Volunteer TV's Mike McCarthy spoke with Tim just a few hours after the incident about how his actions may have helped save the officer's life.

Before emergency crews arrived, Tim Hall was already working the emergency.

“We all went to the back yard of the house and there was an officer who was lying face down on the ground."

That Knoxville Police Officer was 45-year-old Norman Rickman. He'd been shot multiple times responding to a home burglary alarm on Rockbridge Lane Tuesday.

“Kind of like pop, pop, pop, pop five, maybe six shots."

The registered nurse lives just across the street from where Rickman was hit.

Hall says, “That's when I realized with the police officer's car, saw someone running with a gun in his hand. I thought obviously someone's been shot or something. I was afraid, scared."

But Hall and about a half-dozen other neighbors ran to help.

Hall checked the officer's condition while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.

“I asked him about his wounds. I asked him if he could feel anything, if he was hurt. He complained of some numbness on his left side."

But Hall still couldn't tell how many times, or exactly where Rickman was shot.

“So I pulled his shirt back and found the gunshots and then began to hold pressure to the gunshots I could see."

Hall kept pressure on Rickman's chest till Rural Metro arrived.

Police say Hall's actions probably got the officer to the hospital alive.

Knoxville Police Spokesman Darrell DeBusk says, “We're grateful for the work they did and for coming to the aid of an officer on a day where it's unfortunate in this day and time you won't get help."

Help Hall says he'd give anyone who needs it.

Hall says, “Obviously someone's got an emergency need and if he doesn't get emergency care, could die."

But thanks to Hall, and other emergency workers, that didn't happen Tuesday.

Tim Hall performed an emergency juggling act of sorts. First, he made sure his wife and kids were safe. Then he called 911, talked with dispatchers, assessed the officer's condition, then handed off the phone -- all within a matter of minutes.

Hall says the sense of urgency reminded him of his time in an emergency room.