Indiana Fire Fighters Launch Community AED Program

September 5, 2008 – As part of their ongoing efforts to improve public safety in their community, South Bend, IN Local 362 fire fighters are launching a new program to place Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in churches.

“The South Bend fire fighters conduct fundraisers throughout the year, benefiting a variety of charities,” says Todd Skwarcan, vice president of Local 362. “This year, we are using our charity dollars to donate two AED units to two local churches.”

Skwarcan adds, “This program is a good fit with our mission of community service and outreach, and recognizes our responsibility to act on the American Heart Association’s (AHA) recommendation to increase the availability of AED units and train lay people as rescuers.”

The AHA strongly advocates for the establishment of public access defibrillation programs because for every minute without defibrillation, the odds of heart attack patient survival drop between 7-10 percent. A patient who is not defibrillated within 8-10 minutes has almost no chance of survival.

After presenting the two churches with the AEDs, the fire fighters provided a CPR class to church members and certified them in CPR and AED usage.

Local 362 members hope to continue the AED program next year by donating two more units to area public facilities.