Hero firefighter sets sights on saving more lives by teaching CPR

A Fort Myers firefighter just honored for saving a life is setting his sights on saving more.

Last December, Joe Lefebre helped resuscitate a Fort Myers teen who collapsed while jogging. The experience inspired him to teach CPR to the masses, starting with one peculiar place.

Spitfire Fades, in Cape Coral, may now be the safest barbershop in Southwest Florida.

Lefebre owns the barbershop, and has taken up the task of making sure all his barbers are CPR certified.

“We’ve had seizures in here, we’ve had people pass out from dehydration, stuff like that. So you never know when you’re going to need those skills,” Lefebre said. “Being CPR certified, not only can I help here at the shop if something happens, but at home. I encourage parents to think about that.”

Lefebre saved 14-year-old Zac Syska last December when he collapsed running along McGregor Blvd in Fort Myers.

“Luckily we had people, we had bystanders that showed up before we had got there and they were doing CPR,” he said. “Early CPR is actually what I firmly believed saved him.”

Lefebre said the incident inspired him to become a CPR instructor. And he’s making sure other salons and barbershops know the basics to help save a life if they need to.

“You doing CPR, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re always going to save that person, but you give that person a fighting chance,” Lefebre said.