Hands-only CPR kits can be checked for free through the Vancouver Fire Department. The kits contain an instructional DVD and mannequins for practice. To request a kit, call the fire department at 360-487-7212. A smart phone app called PulsePoint notifies people who know CPR if they are within 400 yards of a cardiac arrest so they can assist.
The Vancouver Police Department used grant funding to put automated external defibrillators in more than 70 patrol vehicles, and plans to acquire another 50 later this year.
A 57-year-old man was playing basketball Sunday evening at his friend’s house in east Vancouver when his heart stopped and he collapsed.
Friends and family immediately began CPR — a move that first responders say saved his life. At the same time, someone else called 911.
o The Vancouver Police Department used grant funding to put automated external defibrillators in more than 70 patrol vehicles, and plans to acquire another 50 later this year.
Vancouver Police Cpl. James Burgara was nearby and got to the house in a few minutes. He took over CPR and prepared an automated external defibrillator, a device that delivers a lifesaving electrical shock. Paramedics arrived before Burgara could deploy the device and restarted the man’s heart.
The man is recovering from his experience and doing well.
“From beginning to end, this event highlights the value of rapid CPR and the importance of using every tool the community can muster to respond to these life-threatening emergencies,” said Vancouver Fire Chief Joe Molina.
CPR keeps the heart and brain alive until the heart can be restarted with an automated external defibrillator or through medication.
