Crucial lifesaving equipment to be reevaluated in West Orange Township buildings

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney recently requested that Fire Chief Anthony Vecchio reevaluate the need and working order of all automated external defibrillator devices throughout township buildings. 

AEDs recently entered the national conversation because an AED is credited with saving the life of Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills during a nationally televised football game. Hamlin has since left the hospital and, by all accounts, is on the road to recovery thanks to the trained medical professionals who sprang into action using an AED. 

In 2021, the West Orange Fire Department was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant through FEMA in the amount of $80,233.64 for the replacement of 31 AED units. The precise number of total units currently located throughout West Orange Township, including all public schools, was not immediately available.

The grant award provided for units with state-of-the-art features that included technology that monitors chest compression depth, heart rhythm and other factors for the rescuer to ensure that high-quality CPR is performed. Researchers have found that manual compressions are often not deep or fast enough to provide high-quality CPR. 

“We are extremely pleased that FEMA recognized our needs with that grant,” Vecchio said, referring to the 2021 AFG award. “According to OSHA, most sudden cardiac deaths occur outside the hospital, with only 5 percent or less of them successfully resuscitated. Communities with personnel trained in CPR and the use of AEDs had twice as many victims survive compared to communities with personnel trained only in CPR. The acquisition of these units will help us to equip all our front-line vehicles and public spaces with the most current and effective technology.”

  Grants, Mayor Susan McCartney, West Orange Fire Department