Newport paramedic injured body surfing

Deepa Bharath

A Fire Department paramedic remained in critical condition Tuesday

after he was injured body surfing Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Brian Slater, 51, was swimming in the ocean off Colton Street at

about 3:15 p.m. while his family was on the beach, said Newport Beach

Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer.

A few beachgoers alerted a lifeguard in a tower a block away that

a man was floating face down in waist-deep water, he said.

“Our seasonal lifeguards responded first, but they were soon

backed up by one of our patrol vehicles,” Bauer said. “Very soon, we

identified him as one of our own.”

He said as soon as Slater was brought to the shore lifeguards and

paramedics started resuscitating him.

“Every single call is difficult for us,” Bauer said. “But it makes

it a little more difficult because you’re thinking about your

relationship with this person. At the same time, you’re trying to do

your job.”

But, he added, “everyone involved in that call relied on their

training and gave Brian as good a chance as any.”

Slater was taken to Hoag Hospital where he still remains

unconscious at the intensive care unit. On Tuesday, Slater’s doctors

were “optimistic, but cautious,” said Donna Boston, spokeswoman for

the Newport Beach Fire Department.

“It was a little bit more encouraging [on Tuesday] because he was

able to open his eyes and look at the person speaking to him,” she

said. “But he’s not fully awake yet.”

There has been a “huge outpouring of support” for Slater both from

within the department and from the community, Boston said.

“He is not only a great paramedic, but he is involved in Newport

Heights Elementary, active in his church and in the community,” she

said.

Slater is also the official bagpiper at city ceremonies.

He has touched many lives, said Capt. Rich Thomas, president of

the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn.

“I can’t think of anyone who got more letters of thanks and

commendations,” he said about Slater. “He is just that kind of a

person. He has a huge heart and is a very caring individual.”

Newport Coast resident Ruth Borders says she owes her life to

Slater. In March 2002, Borders developed a clot in her lung following

a back surgery. It was Slater who responded within minutes, gave her

oxygen and took her to the hospital.

“I even saw him at the grocery store a couple of times after

that,” she said. “And he remembered who I was and everything that

happened.”

Borders said Slater had also come to visit another man when she

was at the hospital.

“Brian had helped him the day before I came to the hospital,” she

said. “He came back to visit the man because he was from Las Vegas

and didn’t have any family here. I thought that was really nice of

him. Brian is a very special person.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].