CHESTERFIELD • An employee at Holtec Gas Systems in Chesterfield saved a co-worker's life Monday by performing CPR until paramedics from Monarch Fire Protection District arrived, fire department officials said.

On Monday morning, paramedics responded to a call that a 57-year-old Holtec employee was having shortness of breath. When they arrived at the business, the man was unconscious and in cardiac and respiratory arrest, and a co-worker was performing "high-quality" CPR on him, Captain Nick Harper said.

The life-saving co-worker wanted to remain anonymous.

"I'm not real big on accolades," he told the Post-Dispatch today. "I did what anyone else would have done."

The victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, where he was expected to make a full recovery, Harper said.

Holtec designs gas generators used in various industries. The business is on Edison Avenue near Spirit of St. Louis Airport.