Police, fire personnel save life

BOARDMAN — Township safety services combined efforts last month to help save the life of a church employee.

Police Sgt. Ed McDonnell was escorting Orie Fata, a maintenance employee of St. Luke Church, after a parish bingo game when Fata lost consciousness.

After contacting the township’s 911 center, McDonnell began CPR while waiting for the arrival of firefighter/first responders from the South Avenue fire station.

Fire personnel arrived within three minutes and applied an automatic external defibrillator to Fata’s chest, and he was transported by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Health Center Boardman Campus.

Staff at the church say that Fata, the cousin of parish priest the Rev. Joseph A. Fata, is doing well and is expected to return to work within several weeks.

This is the third life-saving response credited to the South Avenue station since the beginning of the year. It’s the same station that closed last week because of firefighter layoffs. Nine of the township’s 39 full-time firefighters and all nine part-time firefighters were laid off because of a township budget shortfall.