SAULT STE. MARIE — As a local firefighter and paramedic, Paul Young is well versed in first aid techniques. Now, he wants to teach others the basic skills that may help save someone’s life in an emergency.
Born and raised in Lansing, Young has been in the business of helping people for most of his life. Joining the Navy after high school, Young served for six years in active duty. He later served for 14 years in the reserves.
During his time in the reserves, Young studied fire science and paramedic programs at Lake Superior State University. Afterwards, he moved to Sault Ste. Marie and became a firefighter and paramedic.
On Jan. 9, Young opened the doors of his brand new business, Lifesaver U.P., in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. Located at 413 Ashmun St., the downtown storefront serves as a classroom location for CPR and first aid training.
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The store initially began as classes that Young would teach for the fire department.
“People are always calling the fire station asking for CPR classes,” said Young. “So I would borrow equipment from Lake Superior State and it kind of evolved from there.”
With Lifesaver U.P., Young said he hopes to be able to expand the number of people he can reach with his classes. Already the organization is set up to teach classes for groups such as health care workers, but it is also open to any average person who wants to be prepared in case of a health emergency.
In addition to CPR, Young teaches classes on basic emergency first aid, such as how to stop bleeding and how to administer an EpiPen. Young said Lifesaver U.P. is flexible in its curriculum, and would be willing to teach different kinds of first aid if requested.
“My goal is to just provide a location for people that want to learn first aid in case they might need it one day,” said Young. “I want to be able to teach these classes once a week to reach people.”
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault firefighter opens new first aid training facility