A 100-year-old technique is still being used by firefighters to save lives in St. Bernard Parish.
Firefighters at the St. Bernard Fire Department say they are incorporating the use of tourniquets when responding to emergencies. "How are you going to help somebody with a gunshot wound," said Mark Caruso, with the St. Bernard Fire Department. "We're thinking about things like tourniquets to stop the bleeding."
Caruso said his crew had to make the decision to use a tourniquet while responding to a shooting.
It helped stop the victim's bleeding until EMS arrived, according to Caruso.
"When EMS arrived on the scene I was able to transport the patient to the trauma center," Said Raul Vallecillo, EMT.
Three lives were saved that day and another the following month, all thanks to tourniquets.