Takes delivery of 2 Zoll AED's and 1 Trainer Unit
on March 20, 2006.
External Defibrillators (AED’s) and one Trainer Unit. The two AED’s and the Trainer
Unit was awarded to the department from the West Virginia Department of Health and
Human Resources, Bureau of Public Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services
through the Rural Access to Emergency Devices (RAED) Grant Program.
In 1999 the Legislature agreed with scientific findings of the American Heart
Association and others that as many as 250,000 Americans each year suffer from out
of hospital sudden cardiac arrest. The medical / scientific communities believe that
95% of these incidents result in death, and many of these deaths can be prevented if
properly trained individuals could provide early external defibrillation. Heart Attacks
and Strokes are one of the leading causes of Line – of – Duty deaths for Firefighters,
and other Emergency Personnel.
We feel that by getting this equipment we can better serve the community in
emergency situations, and our emergency personnel while performing their duties.
This will also benefit the two other programs we have recently implemented, which
are the In House Volunteers and the First Responder. We currently have two
volunteers that stay three nights a month to in the downtown station to provide
faster response. We have also entered into an agreement with Greenbrier County
Emergency Ambulance Service to provide Rapid Response within our fire district.
This agreement states that 911 will dispatch our personnel to first respond to all Life
Threatening Medical Emergencies and all Traumatic Injuries; this enables trained
Emergency personnel to be on scene quicker.
All of our personnel are trained in CPR / AED and Advanced First Aid, our current
membership includes two Paramedics, four Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT),
and two First Responders. Currently one member is attending Paramedic class and
four are enrolled in EMT class. All of our personnel will receive additional training
and orientation on the new AED prior to the units being placed into service; the AED’
s are expected to be in service by April 01, 2006.