San Ramon Valley Fire: National CPR & AED Awareness Week

Considering that over 350,000 Americans fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest each year, learning CPR and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can quite possibly mean the difference between life and death. With National CPR/AED Awareness Week being observed June 1-7, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District and the HeartSafe Community Program challenges everyone to learn this important life saving skill.

“CPR is something everyone should learn, like riding a bike or learning to swim,” said Edie Farrell San Ramon Valley HeartSafe Community Committee member and the wife of a sudden cardiac arrest survivor.  “You never know when you will need to use CPR or whose life you will save. My husband is here today because someone knew CPR and saved his life.”

San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District is committed to increasing the number of citizens in our valley that know CPR and understand how to use an AED.  The District offers take home kits so residents can learn with their families.  The District sponsors sidewalk CPR instruction at local community events and in 2014 the HeartSafe Committee trained almost every 7th grader in our valley Hands-Only CPR and the proper use of an AED. 

“With the new ‘Hands-Only’ CPR method, learning CPR is now easier than ever,” said Captain Andy Swartzell, Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the Fire District.  “Both the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association teaches, if you see an adult collapse, simply call 911 and then push hard and fast in the center of the patient’s chest until help arrives to take over.”

—Information submitted by San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District