Firefighters and paramedics are American heroes for their dramatic actions in emergencies. But many of them are quietly engaged in a life-saving effort that depends on advance planning to save lives — with high tech devices which, with a little training, can be operated by anyone.
The devices are automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), which deliver electrical shocks to cardiac arrest victims to restore normal heart rhythms and prevent death. A number of communities around the country have achieved dramatically higher survival rates by placing the devices throughout the area and training large numbers of people to begin treatment before paramedics arrive. Up to 70 or 80 percent survival chances have been reported in some places, as opposed to roughly 5 percent when only CPR is available.
In Snohomish County, a good base has been laid for dramatic improvements over time. In 1999, for instance, the sheriff’s department became the first in the state to put the devices in patrol cars when a grant was used to equip five vehicles. Two years ago, Edmonds officers on bicycle patrol saved a 59-year-old man, one of an unknown number of saves around the area.
The Everett Fire Department, city officials and school leaders have begun to speak about the prospects for saving more lives locally with long-term intensification of their efforts. The efforts have received extensive support from the Everett Medic One Foundation.
Already, some 150 defibrillators have been placed around the greater Everett area, including at golf courses, senior centers, a variety of public buildings, some major work places and on virtually every piece of fire department equipment. Two Everett high schools have the devices on campus and other schools are interested. Some Everett High School students have been trained along with faculty.
Everett Fire Chief Murray Gordon says the eventual goal is to have defibrillators become as common place as fire extinguishers in buildings. As Deputy Chief Jack Robinson observes, the defibrillators can actually be easier to operate than fire extinguishers.
Equipping buildings and training people to use defibrillators requires long-term commitment. It’s a worthy goal for Everett and other communities, because of the lives that will be saved. But it will take a lot of quietly heroic work.
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