Town Offers Free CPR Classes

Julie Gathers, a local community resource and Girl Scout leader, recently spent her Saturday morning practicing her CPR skills at Fire Station 7 on Bowman Road. She was due to update her certification and had chosen the Mount Pleasant Fire Department to freshen up on her skills. A couple of hours later, she was done and had perfected life-saving skills.

“Much has changed since I began taking lessons many years ago. It has become easier and simpler to administer CPR than ever before. Just remember 30/2. That is 30 compressions and two breaths. Remember to push hard and fast,” she said. “You will also be trained to use an Automated External Defibrillator device (AED). These units are fool-proof. You simply follow the voice activated AED and apply first-aid. AEDs are very common and can be found on rec fields, at the mall, or town facilities.”

Gathers learned the hard way how important CPR skills can be when she had to administer first aid to a family member. “Knowing to administer CPR and use an AED is something everyone should master. The class was taught by two very knowledgeable paramedics, Eric Carpenter and Willie Torres, who made the experience enjoyable. With such ease of access, CPR is a must for everyone,” she added.

The Mount Pleasant Fire Department started teaching CPR classes to the public in 1995 as a public service to the community and to bring awareness of sudden cardiac arrest. MPFD was at the time the sole entity to provide these life-saving classes East of the Cooper. At its peak, the fire department has taught 1,200 participants annually. MPFD’s current partnership with the American Heart Association is both cost-effective and technologically-enhanced.

In 2002, MPFD started the Community AED Program. “The advance of the AED unit brought defibrillation to the average citizen,” said Leon Boyd, EMS Division Chief. “AEDs can now be found at Town Hall, all recreation fields and town facilities. With this move to bring basic life support to Mount Pleasant residents and businesses; MPFD provides monthly classes in Heartsaver CPR/AED and First-Aid free of charge to Mount Pleasant residents.”

“MPFD boasts some remarkable ’saves’ that can be directly attributed to CPR/AED classes,” said Cpt. Greg Kent. “In one class, the younger brother of one of the students learned about the abdominal thrust maneuver and a week later saved his sister from choking. Our pool of teachers is dedicated and experienced. As part of recent initiatives, we have taught CPR/AED classes to Mount Pleasant police officers to provide them with an additional tool to help the public in need.”

“I would like to thank Mayor Billy Swails and Mount Pleasant Town Council, along with our Town Administrator Eric DeMoura, for their staunch support of the fire department’s community outreach efforts,” said Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Herb Williams. “Cpt. Kent should be commended for starting the AED program years ago, which has culminated in several dramatic ‘saves’ throughout the community. Battalion Chief Jimmy Johnston, Cpt. Howard Hunter, and Paramedics Don Harbaugh, Bryan Everitt, Mike Smith, Derek Brown, Willie Torres, Randy Dahlman, Eric Carpenter and Billy Barnes are greatly instrumental in the success of the CPR program.”

Registering for the MPFD’s CPR/AED and First-Aid classes is very simple. Visit us online at www.tompsc.com and click on the Fire Department>Public Education>Classes to register. It’s free for Mount Pleasant residents!