FIREFIGHTERS, AIR BAG SAVE MAN WHO FELL ON L TRACKS

A giant inflatable air bag set up by Chicago firefighters saved a life Tuesday morning, cushioning the fall of a despondent man who plummeted from a support beam for the CTA’s elevated Green Line tracks above Lake Avenue just west of Halsted Street in the West Loop.

The man, uninjured, was taken to Stroger Hospital for evaluation, authorities said.

The devices, though regularly deployed, rarely are able to prevent a death. There’s a simple reason, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

“If someone is set on committing suicide, they choose not to jump onto it,” Langford said.

And if a person is higher than 10 stories, the device becomes ineffective in saving a life, Langford said.

The Fire Department has two inflatable airbags, at opposite ends of the city. A veteran Fire Department source said they’ve saved lives “only a couple of times.”

On Tuesday, police and fire personnel were notified shortly after a man descended onto the L tracks at the California stop of the Green Line around 2: 30 a. m., CTA spokesman Brian Steele said.

Officials cut power to the tracks as theman made his way east. West of Halsted Street, he lowered himself onto a steel girder.

Police and fire officials quickly arrived. An employee of a juice shop initially thought the commotion was from a production of the TV show “Chicago Fire,” which frequently films in the area.

SWAT officers were able to open a dialogue with the man, who “wasn’t initially talking and seemed despondent,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “They told him, ‘ There is help out there, and this is not your worst day,’” Guglielmi said.

About 7 a. m. the man fell safely into the yellow air bag.