LFD promises in 5 minutes they can teach you to help save a life

If you've got five minutes, Louisville firefighters say they can get you trained to save a life.

The curtain had just gone down at the Kentucky Center. Louisville Fire Maj. Chad Greathouse doesn't remember the show, even the year. But what stands out are the strangers who rushed to help a man who suffered a heart attack in the parking lot.

"The reason that man had a full recovery was because they started CPR within seconds of him collapsing," Greathouse said.

The American Heart Association says 9 out of 10 people won't survive a heart attack; that's thanks in part because many do not receive CPR before professional help arrives.

The Louisville Fire Department is now partnering with the Heart Association to get more people trained to save lives. The group shipped electronic CPR mannequins to the metro's 21 firehouses as part of "hands only" CPR.

"Within those first few minutes of cardiac arrest, blood is still oxygenated. So it is not absolutely imperative you need to give them mouth-to-mouth. There's still plenty of oxygen within the body that needs to be circulated," Greathouse said.

He promises firefighters can have people trained in a matter of minutes. He estimates per individual it takes 5 minutes or less.

"This doesn't take a lot of time, very short amount of time to learn a lifesaving skill that can make a difference - somebody can go home to their family," Greathouse said.

The LFD says walk-ins are welcome at any of the city's firehouses, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.