WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- The West Lafayette Fire Department is celebrating a life saved last week.
On Friday, Dec. 18, West Lafayette emergency teams responded to an emergency call about a person not breathing. When firefighters got there, police were already giving CPR to the individual. The fire department stepped in to provide a defibrillator, which helps regulate heartbeats. From there, emergency medical service workers arrived and administered more CPR. Then they got the individual in the ambulance and to the hospital. After all these life-saving CPR measures, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Need reports the person's heartbeat started again.
He said emergency calls don't always end like this.
"We always hope that this is how it ends and in this case it did and each step from the police officers to the firefighters to the paramedics, each layer showed up and did everything the proper way and we had a successful outcome," said Need.
Deputy Chief Need said the department is not only celebrating the team of West Lafeyette emergency workers but also the people who called 911 early and began CPR before the EMS teams arrived. He said this played a major role in saving the person's life.
"When someone has a heart attack second literally do count," said Need. "Things don't always go right because initial CPR wasn't started. It's some satisfaction knowing, hey we did everything right, our training kicked in and we had a successful outcome."
Need is encouraging people to let this moment serve as a reminder to learn CPR, whether it's through free online tutorials or signing up for classes in the community. West Lafayette Engine #1 Crew responded to this 911 call. This team includes Lt. Eric Doyle, and firefighters Thomas Lynch and Clint Knowles. Deputy Chief Need said the department plans to have a more formal day of recognition for this team in the near future.
