By DONNA KEATING

MONTZ – St. Charles Parish residents who find themselves in an emergency, can turn to a local hero, Eddie Duhe of Montz.

He is a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Norco Volunteer Fire Department. Duhe, a first-responder and a lieutenant with the fire department, assists people in trouble due to fires, medical emergencies or accidents.

Dedication to helping people is his chosen career; he is employed as a health and safety technician for Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co.

Though he received thorough training from the fire department, Duhe is grateful for the additional EMT and basic life support training he received through the company he works for. He said the training “was a perfect fit” for his volunteer job with the fire department.

Duhe developed an interest in receiving additional medical training when his daughter Sarah Duhe, an infant at the time, became ill. He said, “Seeing my daughter ill made me feel helpless. It was then when the thought entered my mind to get additional medical training. I wanted to be able to help people.”

One day, during an unexpected emergency situation, Duhe’s training paid off. He was at a local grocery store and saw a man in the check out lane acting strangely. The man mumbled “diabetes.” Duhe knew the man’s blood sugar level had dropped dangerously low. He said, “I instructed the store manager to call 911 and to get the victim some orange juice. After the second pint of orange juice the man got his senses back.” The victim was very grateful to Duhe when he came out of it. Duhe said, “It was a gratifying incident. The store personnel did not know what to do.”

He received his calling to the Norco Volunteer Fire Department as a firefighter in 1993, when the new fire station was built on River Road in Montz. There was only one volunteer firefighter for the fire station at the time and firefighters from Norco had to travel to help with emergencies in the Montz area, causing a delay in rescue efforts. Duhe wanted to help and signed up as a volunteer, along with another man, the same day. Since then, the station has built a team of firefighters to provide emergency assistance to those in need.

Anyone interested in joining the volunteer team should call 764-9621. Duhe said, “No experience necessary – we will train.”

Editor’s Note:

Each Saturday, L’Observateur will feature an article about a special River Parishes’ resident and the good works associated with the person.

If you would like to nominate someone contact Robert Roan at 985-652-9545 or send an e-mail to lobnews@bellsouth.net.