VIDEO: Sacramento Metro Firefighters on Wednesday hosted a ceremony to launch a community-based program designed to empower citizens with CPR skills and access to life-saving equipment. The Cordova Recreation and Park District installed an automated external defibrillator (AED) at Hagan Park, accessible 24 hours a day, which firefighters say has the potential to save lives.
James Ellis from Sac Metro Fire emphasized the importance of citizen action in emergencies. “We need our citizen responders to start CPR and to use an AED to give anyone a chance at survival. If a witnessed cardiac arrest happens, and someone starts CPR immediately, they have a 30% chance of survival, and with the use of an AED, it’s a 50% chance of survival,” Ellis said. Ellis also highlighted the scarcity of AEDs in public places.
“It’s vital to have an AED in a public place; there’s very few. In fact, it’s rare to have AEDs in a public setting. In Metro Fire’s jurisdiction, we cover over 720,000 people and there are only three public access AEDs, including this one. Two of them are in parks and one is in a private neighborhood,” he said. After unveiling the AED, Metro Fire hosted a CPR training event, offering community members the opportunity to learn essential, life-saving skills.
