Fire union: Company slated for closure saves man's life

Paramedics on Truck 10 apply CPR to heart attack victim

Paramedics assigned to Truck 10 — which the city is planning to close in July — saved a man's life Wednesday morning, the firefighters union said.

At 6:20 a.m., an elderly man walked into the firehouse at 1503 W. Lafayette St., where Truck 10 is located, and told paramedics there his son, who is in his 40s, was suffering from a heart attack and having a seizure at a home nearby. The man did not own a telephone to call 911, the union said.

Truck 10 responded to the home two blocks away and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and "advanced life support procedures," the union said. The victim was taken to Bon Secours Hospital, where he is now breathing on his own, the union said.

Truck 10 is among three city fire companies slated to close July 1 amid a tight budget process.

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