LAPLACE — Everything stopped for approximately 15 minutes Friday night at the St. Charles Catholic High School football game.

A fan in the stands experienced a cardiac event, officials said, and needed immediate assistance.

“The emergency response personnel in St. John the Baptist Parish, the fans and our students acted with haste, care, professionalism and respect,” principal Andrew Cupit said. “Students quietly prayed while Mr. Sirmon was attended to by emergency personnel. As always, we appreciate our sheriff’s deputies, fire departments and all emergency personnel. We will continue to keep Mr. Sirmon in our prayers on his path to recovery.”

Sirmon’s grandson plays football for SCC, school officials said.

St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre, who attended Friday’s game, credited the quick work of detective Mike Dean and crime scene investigator Mike Pugh for aiding in Sirmon’s emergency response.

“(The Ochsner staff) credited the officers for administering CPR in such an appropriate manner, it looked like it may have saved his life,” Tregre said. “The fans stayed back, gave us space to operate and prayed ‘Our Father’ while we were giving CPR. When the ambulance was leaving, they gave them a standing ovation. This was a huge community moment.”

Tregre said making sure his staff was CPR certified was a mandate after taking office.

A number of officers have since become CPR instructors.

“There is nothing worse than being there and you can’t do anything because you didn’t have the training,” Tregre said. “Now, we’ve saved a number of lives and the CPR training has paid off.”

According to the sheriff, his officers are available to train community members in CPR.

“There is nothing better than being able to save a life like that,” Tregre said. “They saved a life Friday night.”