WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Fire Department, utilizing curriculum from the American Heart Association, held its first community CPR certification course on Jan. 20. The course was open to all West Orange residents and was held at the township’s Emergency Operation Center. Residents were able to register for the program by telephone or email. WOFD plans to deliver the program to residents on a quarterly basis.
Cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat, also called an arrhythmia, and disrupts the flow of blood to the brain, lungs and other organs and is a leading cause of death. According to the AHA, each year more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States.
When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately getting CPR from someone nearby. Almost 90 percent of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die. CPR, especially if performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. While West Orange is fortunate to have rapid Fire/EMS response, every minute counts in the chain of survival and the benefit of early resident intervention cannot be overstated.
If you are called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you love: a child, a spouse, a parent or a friend. According to the AHA, 70 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes. Unfortunately, only approximately 46 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest get the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives.
“The program was a resounding success and we hope to have the same great response when we present the program again in a few months,” Firefighter Gabe Gatto, the course’s lead instructor, said in a press release.
The WOFD encourages residents to look for CPR training information and other program information throughout the year from the WOFD so they can register as soon as any dates are announced.
Photos Courtesy of West Orange
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