Firehouse News: Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District offers CPR instruction
– “911, what is your emergency?”
– “My husband… I-I can’t wake him up and he isn’t breathing!”
– “OK ma’am. Help is on the way. I am going to ask you to begin performing CPR. Are you familiar with CPR?”
– “No, I have never learned how…”
While this may be a dark example, this scenario could become someone’s harsh reality in a moment’s notice. According to the American Heart Association, “More than 356,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital setting per year, equating to around 1 cardiac arrest every 40 seconds in the U.S.” (AHA, 2021). An even more glaring statistic is that for every minute a person is in cardiac arrest without high-quality CPR, their chances for survival decrease anywhere from 7-10% (Ibrahim, 2007, p. 649).
The Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District recognizes these risks and urges the public to seek CPR training. We offer in-house education and certification on the importance of CPR through the American Heart Association (AHA) and employ certified CPR instructors at our fire departments. The range of instruction varies from a free, brief discussion on basic techniques and significance to pre-hospital CPR to a full BLS certification course for a nominal fee.
Information on these courses can be obtained at our main fire station near Pine Island Center, located at 5700 Stringfellow Road, Bokeelia, FL, 33922 or by phone at 239-283-0030.
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiac-arrest/about-cardiac-arrest