Life-Saving Devices Donated To Evanston Fire Department In Honor Of Late Teen

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston Fire Department ambulances will be equipped with portable chest compression systems thanks to a donation from the Evanston First Responders Foundation.

The local nonprofit designated funding for three LUCAS devices, one for each of the department's ambulances, in honor of Oliver Brown Leopold, a graduate of the EFD's fire explorer program.

LUCAS, which stands for Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System, is a portable chest compression system that allows first responders to keep up chest compressions without interruptions, significantly increasing the patient's chance of survival.

Announcing the $56,000 donation, fire officials said the addition of the devices to the department's front-line ambulances would "undoubtedly make a significant difference in the effort to save lives."

Brown Leopold was the youngest member of the foundation's board board of directors when he died December 2021 at the age of 19 from what his family described as an apparent suicide.

Speaking at a memorial service, Evanston Fire Department Captain Megan Kamarchevakul remembered Brown Leopold as a natural leader who radiated positive energy from the time he started with the fire explorers when he was 13.

"He would show up to emergency scenes," Kamarchevakul said. "At first he would ride his bike there, he would always try to get there before the first engine, sometimes he succeeded."

Kamarchevakul recalled the time Brown Leopold purchased the department's reserve ladder truck.

"Of course, he had everything lined up, he had insurance, storage, upkeep, the only problem was he couldn't drive it," Kamarchevakul said. After the teen got his permit, the fire captain helped him learn to drive it.

"As terrifying as that first experience was, I looked over and I couldn't be more proud to see this grown young man who was no longer a kid, who could work an aerial ladder, who followed his heart," she said. "He challenged any norms, and he was and will continue to be a true inspiration."

According to an obituary from his family, Brown Leopold graduated early from Evanston Township High School in order to become an emergency medical technician during the first waves of the coronavirus pandemic, working in an emergency room and on an ambulance — later taking a gap year so that he could become a paramedic.

"Once Oliver had a taste of being a first responder, he never looked back, and we knew he was hooked immediately," Evanston Fire Chief Paul Polep said at the teen's service.

Polep said Brown Leopold was always eager to lend a hand to emergency personnel, and an application he developed for use in the department's vehicles continued to be greatly appreciated by firefighters.

"Oliver was family. He was a friend, and he was a professional, before even being a professional," Polep said.

Since its founding in 2013, the Evanston First Responders Foundation has distributed grants to allow the department to buy gear for the fire explorers program, acquire a police dog, funding community CPR programs and mannequins and bought bike helmets to distribute during the Bike the Ridge event in which cyclists are allowed to legally ride on Ridge Avenue for a few hours every year.

In a statement announcing the donation of the LUCAS devices, Polep said the department cannot thank the Brown Leopold family enough for their contributions to the foundation.

"The Foundation's commitment to our department and the community we serve is invaluable," the chief said, "and we are honored to receive this life-saving equipment in honor of Oliver."